Post-Brexit Compassionate Conservatism At Work

[Canary42]

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/italian-man-95-resident-uk-070051038.html

[Mozz71]

Harsh. How difficult is it to prove his residency? They must have tax records

[diddlydo]

Harsh indeed - but consistent with the behaviour of this dreadful government.

[Old_Geezer]

In fairness things need to be proved; it's a slippery slope just letting folks through. But one would have thought the authorities would have a record anyway. At the very least the tax office and his national insurance number. System probably needs an overhaul.

[KARL]

This is neither an isolated example (there are lots) nor does is it necessarily have anything to do with this government, this is symptomatic of the UK's woefully poor systems/management which has a decades long history. Everything is disjointed but that is a matter of policy and one comes across examples where pride is expressed in this chaos being institutional - it is a deliberate state of affairs, just like far superior systems are in other countries.

Overhaul ? It would not be enough, that has already supposedly been done quite regularly but we see the result, again and again. It would be very easy to simply copy and install/instigate better systems which are known to work elsewhere but that would be an admission that the foreigners have the solution the UK lacks (heavy thud as the foot goes down).

[diddlydo]

The point is that people such as this would not need to have worried if it hadn't been for the disaster that is Brexit.

[KARL]

diddlydo, and the flaws would not have again been held up to the light of day - still the Best.......

[fiction-factory]

I don't really buy this story as it's given here. Obviously thorough checks need to be made. I doubt very much he had to provide 80 pages of bank statements. Presumably he had never applied for a UK passport or British citizenship. I find it hard to see how DWP and HMRC records wouldn't suffice. Threads like this though are a good opportunity for Karl to remind us how inferior he feels the UK is to the rest of the EU/major countries

[fiction-factory]

I see the article came from a writer at The Guardian. That convinces me it's someone with an anti Brexit told you so agenda who will give a distorted story.

[KARL]

...and for people to ignore/dislike being reminded of reality and deny its existence. Detest the messenger as a minimum. Discourage/resist change/improvement at all costs.

[cassa333]

It’s not harsh at all.

Proof in this instance should be easy to send.

I would say stop complaining about reasonable stuff that’s easy to sort out and makes you look a twonk for posting and start at things that are really unjust. But TBh that might be a bit more difficult because when the law is applied it isn’t per se harsh or unjust. Simply not the laws you like.

If the law you don’t like needs changing campaign to change the law but to whinge and whine about the system working as that’s like whinging and whining that the sun comes up.

[emmie]

i once had to provide 5 years worth of bank statements to the DWP, it happens...

[youngmafbog]

Plenty of sour grapes still being chomped by some on here I see.
:-)

[Mozz71]

I just don't see why it falls to a 95 year old to prove his residency when surely there are records of tax payments/pension payments dating back decades and easily accessible to the council offices. It just seems like placing unnecessary stress on a potentially vulnerable pensioner.

Not sour grapes, just compassion.

[diddlydo]

If it wasn't for b***** brexit, this very elderly man could have continued to live here in peace for the rest of his days without all the stress that has inevitably befallen him.

[fiction-factory]

Brexit should hardly have come as a surprise to him. I'm sure there are things that could have been done such as requesting British citizenship, I think this case has been exaggerated/spun to make a point. If not, I hope the authorities get their act together and do things in a firm but fair and understanding way. I would be surprised if more than an insignificant number of people get thrown out. For most it should be a formality to prove their entitlement but it makes sense to build up a portfolio of basic records now just in case

[diddlydo]

He probably didn't want British citizenship - why would he?

[fiction-factory]

Okay, I'll play with a straight bat. he could apply for settled status then. from the gov.uk website:

If you've lived in the UK for 5 years or more
You should either apply to the EU Settlement Scheme for settled status or for British citizenship.
If you get settled status, you can:
live and work in the UK for as long as you like
live outside the UK for up to 5 years in a row without losing your status - 4 years if you're Swiss
apply for British citizenship 12 months after you get settled status - or straight away if you’re married or in a civil partnership with a British citizen
bring your family to live in the UK

[fiction-factory]

"You’ll have more rights if you become a British citizen but you might have to give up your current nationality. You need to pay to apply for British citizenship."

[Mamyalynne]

It can't really be a surprise to some that it's quite common the have one Government Department tell another they have no record of you (even when that department is dealing with you on a regular basis) complete unorganised shambles.

[cassa333]

Mozz, it is beholden unto each of us to live by the rules of the country we live in.

All he has to do is send in the information he has. Which is tax records, pension records, health records. It’s not hard or rocket science. Possibly not a doddle for 93 yr old but doable.