Protesters say no to cutting Barnet warden service (From Times Series)

A surprise to me, as i thought it was only Labour and the lib-dems who favoured throwing our taxes at immigrants and scroungers and taking it away from the people who have paid taxes all their lives. Don't tell me the tories are turning against popular opinion too!
Because make no mistake - these are the reasons they need to save money. And er, no i'm not being paranoid....

Many of the sheltered housing residents are immigrants who have paid taxes all their lives. Several of them were on the march on Saturday, marching together with what I suppose you might call 'indigenous' British people (although how far back do you want to take it?). Your attitude only divides people who have a common cause.

Many more people are entitled to benefits than claim them: that is part of what is wrong with the wardens cut. People will be entitled to ask for floating support, but will they use the service? Perhaps they will decide it is not worth the trouble, or they will fear 'being a nuisance' to others and battle on without the help they need.

There are plenty of real scroungers in Britain and the world: have a look into the amount of unpaid corporation tax or the inflated salaries of chief execs... or even MPs' bonuses... next time you want to get angry with someone.

Your fire is turned on the wrong people.

Vicki Morris, Barnet Community Campaign

Dear Reality-Bites,
My Dad was an immigrant, came over in 1942 to fly a bomber for the RAF. After the war, he set up a business which employed dozens of English born people, most of whom attended his funeral in 1987. Do you know how many commonwealth troops fought for King & Country? It is widely acknowledged that the introduction of Polish squadrons into the battle of britain was a major turning point as the RAF ran out of pilots. What about the Gurkhas - how many VC's have they won.

Suggesting that immigrants are scroungers is dishonest and insulting.

I said immigrants AND scroungers not are!
I am well aware of the benefits immigration has brought to these shores. but i am also very well aware of the cost of the new mass immigraton Labour has favoured. Only the distinctly unread and naive among us would miss the latest statistics. And as for mp's bonuses V. I've already mentioned scroungers and that especially goes for mp's.
And Rog, just as our elderly are being left on the shelf so too, have the Gurkhas and i know the Poles got it the bad during WW2 as they were slaughtered by both the German and Russian Armies. (i know they are very grateful to us for helping them defeat the Hun) But this goes to show that in this country - if you work and pay tax life is always a struggle. Turn to crime, live off the state or become an mp.....easy street!
remember - research the stats and you will see why local councils need to cut costs. one example - see below.

from the Watford observer.

The rising number of foreign nationals committing crimes in Hertfordshire is placing an increased strain on the county's police force, officers have warned.

By the end of the financial year police say they will have arrested more than 3,200 foreign visitors, some 10.7 per cent of the total recorded arrests.

The amount spent on interpreters is expected to surpass £380,000, a jump of more than 60 per cent in only three years.
PC Voya Mihailovic, a spokesman for the Hertfordshire Police Federation, says the rise in the number of foreign nationals dealt with by his officers is beginning to cause real problems, eating up an ever-increasing amount of time and money.

He said: "It's certainly a good time to be an interpreter.

"It's important that the people we arrest understand what we're saying and what they are being charged with because the courts demand it.

"Unfortunately these interpreters cost a lot of money and are not always available."
Reliable figures for the number of foreign nationals living in the area are not available; with the county council having no idea and district councils only keeping records of people registered to work and pay Council Tax.

Watford Borough Council say there are roughly 500 foreign nationals registered with them.

But whatever the true figure, it seems they are keeping police increasingly busy.

PC Mihailovic argues that rises are no surprise because the proceeds of crime are far higher - a trend that has led to a disproportionately large criminal fraternity in many communities.

He added: "Crime in Hertfordshire is worth a lot more than in the countries they've come from so it makes sense for them to come here.

"It's best to see it like this: a shop-lifting ring in Watford is far more profitable than one in Krakow."

Figures obtained by the Watford Observer reveal a rise in the number of foreign arrests of six per cent in as many years, with Poles (25 per cent), Chinese (13 per cent), Bulgarians and Romanians (both 12 per cent) the most likely to see the inside of a cell.

Reality!

I wonder if “Reality Bites” is actually “Boombastic” in disguise? The council has lost the moral argument over the warden cuts so decides to play the immigration card to try and make this unfair policy more palatable?