Tom Allen

#bbcaq How is it justifiable to be about to imprison people for peacefully objecting to genocide, and debating whether we release violent offenders?

I ask the question in light of the @UKLabour leader's speech this week that included echoes of Enoch Powell and The Brexit Leave Campaign. And how much media is pressuring Labour to pander further right. The data says the threat to Labour comes from supporters defecting left.

So fundamentally can the country afford this preference against foreign-born people that a few people hold? And if we frame the question in that far more honest way, is that really what any majority want? Spoiler alert: every poll I've seen says not. So why keep up the pretence?

Migrants are consistently shown to bring more money into the economy than they can access, even more so with those who have recently migrated. The reason public services are struggling is a decade+ of underinvestment, with an intention to force privatisation of some services.

So my question is: Can we as a country financially afford to pander further to those misrepresenting immigration as an economic and societal negative? #bbcaq

About 2% to 3% of GDP seems to have gained popularity among many economists. So perhaps we can say it's costing us around £40bn to £70bn per year.

However the creation of immigration as a completely misrepresented evil was used to push the #Brexit agenda, as we all know. Estimates vary wildly about the ongoing cost to the UK taxpayer of Brexit (Bloomberg's £100bn a year number being highly publicised).

Those illegal channel crossings should be addressed, with appropriate care for the often extremely vulnerable people making them. So I do agree there should be action on that 0.025% (30k as % of 1.2m total) of immigration that are illegal boat crossings.

This is such an important point, because words mean things! They didn't 'lose their house', the bank took it when they missed a payment. Let's say what we mean: "Mass biodiversity destruction, causing many permanent extinctions, for short term corporate profit"

Someone was telling me about this good samaritan geezer, out of that Bible. Talk about virtue signalling #wokerati! I hear even the Pope wears a dress now (or 'robe' he calls it). Bloody lefties... Wait till I tell the @DailyMailUK

Incompetence is rife in this government. No wonder they still see Liz Truss as 'popular'

A new plot to mine the unexplored deep ocean seabed is currently being foiled by some amazing activists in the Pacific. Huge respect to them. Hopefully we'll be able to study and learn about these ecosystems, rather than destroy them. abcnews.go.com/Business/wire… #stopdeepseamining

Presenting this without the context that he was instructed to use the side of the hammer is disingenuous. Along with not having the moral fortitude to back a ceasefire for Gaza, you may actually be able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at this rate. Shape up. #bbcaq