Gurkhas- Right to residence in the UK

[ghi]

I used to work with them years, at sea ,when Princess Cruises was owned by P&O: they used to do security jobs patrolling those huge ships day and night, most of them Falkland war vets, i don't know if Princess fired them after the merge with Carnival Cruise Line.

[iTunes]

Not sure how long you have been here but I got mine 3 years ago. I waited until I had been here for nine years then applied, that process took almost 2 years with all of the background checks. I knew I wouldn't be going back so decided that if I'm here I may as well go all the way.

I can apply for mine from last December, but there's a small part of me still undecided, nothing real dramatic, just that I spent a good few years in the service and I'm still of the mind that it has to still mean something (Falklands to Iraq via Northen Ireland), Anyway back to the Gurkhas, can you imagine the outcry if it was France with their Liegionaires? or if the US had a branch of Foriegn nationals fighting for them then deporting them? Just wouldn't happen and I really hope the Prime Minister back there does the right thing.
I'll be keeping an eye on this as it develops, I can only imagine the outcry in the Barracks over this...

[AWwrgwy]

Gordon Brown's government has suffered a shock defeat in the Commons on its policy of restricting the right of many former Gurkhas to settle in the UK.

MPs voted by 267 to 246 for a Lib Dem motion offering all Gurkhas equal right of residence, with the Tories and 27 Labour rebels backing it.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg called the government's position "shameful".

Immigration minister Phil Woolas told MPs new proposals would be published before Parliament's summer recess.

In a statement, he said: "This government respects the will of the House of Commons."

He added that all outstanding applications for UK residence by Gurkhas would be dealt with by the end of May.

Mr Brown's first significant defeat as prime minister came despite last-minute concessions being offered to rebel Labour MPs.

wrongway

[gpwurzel]

Unfortunately Wrongway, thats not binding on this particular so called *Government*

Wurzel

[RTHolmes]

this is just bewildering. we rubberstamp applications from unskilled, uneducated economic migrants with no English, from countries that have never even been part of the commonwealth, while turning away Gurkhas who have risked their lives and fought for the UK. this alone should guarantee them residency, apart from the fact that those Gurkhas are some of the finest soldiers in the world. its absolutely disgraceful.

  Gurkhas

[Swoop]

The Gov was defeated in parliament yesterday by a Lib Dem vote to allow Gurkhas to stay, Labour MPs voted against they own party and plenty more abstained the vote.

This is the first time in living memory that a Government in power has been defeated in parliament by a vote proposed by the opposition.

And quite right too.


However, as has been pointed out......the current government of this country has a way of doing whatever the hell it wants. 

[Fishu]

That is madness, how could anyone refuse the right to residence from a group of people who have a long tradition of being one of the country's finest defenders? In the meanwhile it's OK to ship in people from Africa and the middle east to get the social benefits without obligations. I wouldn't refuse the rights from anyone who's served for a country with a fine record.