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Why put illegal immigration in quote marks like that as if it doesn’t exist? It does exist. The majority of immigrants arrive perfectly lawfully with visas and by prearrangement, to rejoin families or take up job offers etc. No problem whatever. People who arrive unofficially, including those in...

Good points, well expressed. Pretty much sums up my view too. It's a complex, nuanced issue that needs long term thinking and a long term strategy. Never easy to manage when governments are reluctant to look beyond the time limits of their own administration.

That seems like a reasonable position to me, no? As always, people get very binary about these things. It's clearly true that some cynically take advantage of the system while others are in dire need and deserve support. As with immigration and other issues that polarise people, if we could...

Fair point. I appreciate your perspective and ok, it’s possible that he was indeed doing his job in an unexpected way. I honestly don’t believe he was thinking in those terms BUT you’re right — the 5 or 6 weeks I had off did indeed allow me to think about my future and I changed jobs within a...

No. Nothing to do with pedantry. There’s a genuine distinction between avoidance and evasion, and often used by commentators, politicians etc. Many people, especially on the left, have the quite legitimate view that tax avoidance schemes have gone too far and mainly benefit the already wealthy...

Ha ha! Hadn’t thought of it like that. I just thought I had a shit job and a shit boss.

I played the system, definitely, though I bristle a bit at 'lying and defrauding'. I spoke to my GP truthfully about how pissed off I was at work, hoping he’d sign me off for a while which he did. I couldn’t have complained if instead, he'd advised me to take more exercise and look for another...

Nothing wrong with tax avoidance. We're right in the middle of ISA season. ISAs (introduced by Labour under Blair) allow people to save up to £20K a year without being taxed on interest, dividends, capital growth etc. All perfectly legal. Same with pension funds which allow tax-efficient...

Please stop calling people trolls just because they have a different world view. You constantly post inflammatory opinions which seem to have no purpose but to antagonise some people. And when they respond? They’re trolls, of course. Physician, heal thyself!

There is no "movement" to abuse the welfare system — you added that to whip up your own indignation. But there are certainly plenty of people who play the mental health card to get time off work. I’ve done it myself, and I personally know several people who’ve done it — especially in the public...