As a great comedian used to sat "don't mock the afflicted". I too support Pedro's efforts to draw attention to the plight of the the mentally challenged. and the stigmatised attitude of some on here is all too apparent. ". I say " there , but fo the grace of God , go I
Why do people leave Blighty? The statistics suggest most of them want a better job and life prospects. Work-related reasons continue to be the main reason given for emigration, accounting for 56% of emigrants. They were the reason 180,000 people left in 2014, and 187,000 left the year before that. Immigration rises to highest ever level under Cameron - live James Kirkup: Yet more promises and new laws won't solve Britain's problem with immigration For all the latest on politics straight to your inbox, sign up for our Telegraph morning briefing e-mail There were 33,000 emigrants who said their main reason for leaving was "going home to live", comprising 18,000 EU citizens and 14,000 from non-EU nations. Emigrants were most keen to get away in 2008, with 62,000 fleeing, which is unsurprising considering it marked the start of the economic crunch. There have been around 30,000 people leaving Britain every year to accompany or join relatives elsewhere. Others emigrate as they have finished their studies, with 25,000 leaving last year, marginally more than the 22,000 the year before, indicating that Britain's universities have been attracting more foreign students. What about the ex-pats who wanted to live out their retirement in a nice villa in somewhere like Spain or France? They could well be represented among the 52,000 people who left last year for un-stated reasons, or the 38,000 "other" emigrants.
Five hundred years ago, between five and seven million people spoke English, almost all of them living in the British Isles. Now, anywhere up to 1.8 billion people around the world speak English.
How did this happen?
The growth of English has nothing to do with the structure of the language, or any inherent qualities, and everything to do with politics.
The British Empire After developing for almost a millennium on the British Isles, English was taken around the world by the sailors, soldiers, pilgrims, traders and missionaries of the British Empire. By the time anything resembling a language policy was introduced, English had already reached all corners of the globe.
For example, English-speaking puritans were not the only Europeans to arrive in North America: Spanish, French, Dutch and German were also widely spoken. All of the languages were reinforced by waves of immigration from Europe in the following centuries.
But in the process of designing a “United” States, the USA’s founders knew the importance of language for national identity. English was the majority language and had to be encouraged. As recently as the start of the 20th Century, several states banned the teaching of foreign languages in private schools and homes. The U.S. Supreme Court only struck down restrictions on private language education in 1923.
Even today, English is not the official language of the USA, but there is no question that it is the dominant language in practice.
And it wasn’t just America that said “hello” to English. At one point in the early twentieth century, the British Empire expanded across almost a quarter of the world’s surface, not including the USA. According to a popular saying, “the sun never set on the British Empire”.
Why are so many of us leaving Britain? Is it the crap weather? The lack of affordable housing? The far-reaching ramifications of colonialism smoothing our way as we migrate around the world? A combination of the above? Whatever the reason, according to a new report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Britain has a greater proportion of its citizens living overseas than any other European country.
As a recent British economic immigrant to the Netherlands, it doesn’t surprise me that the issue of British-born immigrants is widely ignored by anti-immigration factions in the UK.
It’s a highly inconvenient truth that 3.97 million British citizens were living abroad in 2010 - and since then their numbers have grown to the point that the House of Lords are currently debating whether overseas Brits should be able to vote in the EU referendum.
We are many and mighty, with enough voting clout to swing a decision. No wonder Ukip are reluctant to draw attention to us.
Madeleine Sumption, the director of the University of Oxford Migration Observatory, has been quoted in The Times saying: “We normally think of the UK mainly as a destination for migrants, but it also has a long history of emigration... The OECD data suggest that Brits are more mobile than many other countries with similar levels of development, like Germany, France or the United States.”
Spain remains the most popular European country to live in for Brits, followed by Ireland, Germany and Italy.
The biggest increases in emigration from the UK were mostly to eastern Europe, including countries which have since joined the European Union.
It includes a huge leap in the numbers in Slovakia, up from 34 to 4,276 in 13 years.
There were also large rises in the numbers in Bulgaria (up 5,000 per cent), Romania (1,240 per cent), Czech Republic (1,170 per cent), Latvia (1,116 per cent), Hungary (1,019 per cent) and Poland (892 per cent).
Cheap flights, more open borders and the need to find work in the wake of the financial crash mean more people live outside the country they were born in than ever before.
Last year a total of 232million people, or 3.2 per cent of the world’s total population, had moved to live in another country.
In 2000 the figure was only 175 million and just 154 million in 1990.
The total number of Brits living abroad rose 23 per cent from 4.1million in 1990 to 5million 2013.
Australia was the most popular destination, with 1.277million expats, well ahead of the US where 758,919 Britons live and Canada, home to 674,371.
Revealed: Where 5million Brits live abroad... from 1.3million in Australia to the four who have emigrated to San Marino
United Nations report shows a record 232million people are living outside country where they were born worldwide
More than 5million people born in the UK have emigrated, a quarter flying halfway round the world to live in Australia
Top 10 countries for Brits abroad includes USA, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, Germany and Italy There are also 7.8million immigrants living in the UK, the fifth highest number of any country in the world By MATT CHORLEY, MAILONLINE POLITICAL EDITOR
tomcatwarne Forum Posts (17,106)
RE: Brexit - How will you vote in the referendum?
A lot of people who are eligible to vote feel the same way, Of course the money and the banks want us to stay in, for obvious reasons.Don't forget to register to vote.