Mairéad "Maisie" Ó Dorchaidhe

I agree with that, more responding to not knowing if anyone on the 15 year route will be able to settle.

I've also noticed it's been a long time since Mahmood talked about 15 years - it may be part of a watering down if she can be forced into making concessions.

The uncertainty is damaging too.

It's hard to predict anything globally on such a large timescale... It's also hard to imagine immigration policy this inflexible/hardline lasting that long in an increasingly old country (assuming we'd like to keep pensions and the NHS).

"should you get involved in an unprovoked American war with no clear purpose in the Middle East" is like the political equivalent of an open book test

May also see many people trying to switch to family routes particularly family life, esp if they have young children born here (even if not yet registerable)

This assumes everyone who can no longer qualify for a visa actually leaves, and does not just fall out of status and simply stay with no status.

I personally think a crisis of many fundamentally decent/good faith people with no legal status is more likely than them all just giving up and leaving.

Also bar some people including unpaid carers and stay at home parents, the disabled, etc from settlement indefinitely even if they are partners/parents of British citizens

What is the name of the area in London where famous theatres are located? Soho, Theatreland, Westminster, Hyde Park

Nevermind I'm doing another practice test and this is my new favourite question.

I would like to meet a single human person who did not write this test who calls the West End theatreland

At least they didn't try to trip him up with this one...

A screenshot of the life in the UK test reference book listing notable athletes. Roger Bannister, Jackie Stewart, Bobby Moore, Ian Botham, Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Steve Redgrave, Tanni-Grey Thompson, Kelly Holmes, Ellen MacArthur, Chris Hoy, David Weir, Bradley Wiggins, Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray, Ellie Simmonds.

You've managed to out-obscure the life in the UK test textbook, your prize will be in the post

Regrettably it has been sent with Evri

Agree it will fail on its nominal goals (help public services, integration) and its actual goals (charming reform voters, lowering immigration salience, stealth deportation). I think its main effect will be lots of trauma, anxiety, deintegration, and people falling out of status but staying anyway.

www.gov.uk/health-care-...

This is the list of those still eligible, many will qualify in 5 years based on the public service reduction of 5 years from 10, and all will be "high skill". The "care worker" jobs that Mahmood and Tapp talk about are SOC 6135 and 6136 which you can no longer enter on.

I think you could make a strong argument that the only truly salient issue is small boat arrivals, and that the public don't notice or care about the technical detail of settlement or visa routes.

But in terms of the motivations of this mean spirited policy, it is for those already here.

It's literally impossible for new people to come for a care visa now. The care route is closed to outside applicants and has been for months.

Net migration is cratering and will likely be negative soon, and HO response to that is saying the real problem is all the people already here.

So they'll just make it harder and harder to stay until hopefully enough of them give up and leave without the state having to actively force them out.

(This is not my position I am just explaining the home office's goals here)

1) care work visa is already effectively cancelled. Only people already in the UK on a visa can apply for one, so nobody is "coming" on it anymore

2) they want to force the people who have already come on these visas to leave, but don't want to say that out loud as it's ghastly

There a moments as a journalist working in Westminster that stick with you, this will be one of them.

This is so extremely brave, and a reminder that the epidemic of violence against women and girls affects every part of our society.

Nothing but respect for Charlotte for sharing this.

As a proponent of the Irish language myself I also have rather strong opinions on the anglocentrism inherent in "speak English". There's a wonderful diversity of languages on these islands and yet "speak a language appropriate for where you live" is apparently out of reach for Westminster.

In case you don't know, there is a separate requirement for language tests unless someone's done a degree taught in English or is from an English speaking country.

So this test isn't even necessary on that axis

If you want to properly rage, read the companion book published for this test. Full of false, oversimplified, contested, or just plain misleading "facts"

Saying you'd pass the test because you're "a proud Brit" who has "served the country" immediately tells me you know nothing about the test.

My favourite is the trivia questions about obscure Olympians from 20+ years ago, and stuff like who opened the first curry shop in England.

It's very pub quiz, feels like it's not testing more than English ability and capacity to study a book.

It is important that the government actually gives out - in writing - what it is claiming and not claiming about the fiscal impact of its settlement proposals. Ministers are now consistently making misleading claims, factually, in speeches outside parliament, + inadvertently in parliament itself

And so we write to brilliant postgraduate students from Sudan, withdrawing the offers and scholarships they won in open competition with the best in the world. A sad day for the University of Oxford.

These bonfires were my first thought while reading that as well...

A 'normal' flag can absolutely be a hate symbol if used that way.

Try hotel chocolat. Expensive but proper good chocolate.

They have the highest support for trump/maga, and reform appealing media (gb news etc) have been heavily in favour of this war which probably also helps tilt opinion

Left: Shabana Mahmood gloats about Labour values

Right: Shabana Mahmood blocked an 18 year old Afghan girl from accepting an education at York or Reading, abandoning her to the Taliban

And considering their recent policies, you have to tack on "unless that woman isn't British, in that case she must work forever or risk being ejected regardless of household income"

They might just hate women and have no clear philosophy

This is a social democrat.

Wes Streeting wants us to trust him on Palantir. But how can you trust a man who suggests GPs can ignore their legal duties to patients?

https://goodlaw.social/1i14