70 million of us - we should be worried.

[Workingman]

The ONS predicts that the "official" figure for UK population will reach 70 million by 2027. Unofficially it is probably near to that already. Two thirds of the rise will be due to immigration and immigrants already account for 25% of all births.

Meanwhile, back in La-La Land, Cameron wants to build more homes, many more homes. He has not said anything about hospitals, schools, roads or what kind of work all these people will do. But here is the interesting bit from Prof Dustmann:

"When populations are decreasing, you're dealing with a shrinking working-age population, which basically has to be confronted with an increasing ageing population which is not productive any more."

"An increase in population means a larger economic base - part of the GDP growth we have seen is due to immigration,".

So, we shovel in more immigrants of working age to pay taxes and pay our pensions and keep the economy growing until, wait for it, they reach pension age. We then get the shovels out again.

Sorry Prof, but your economic model is bonkers and unsustainable.

[Kaz]

That's a huge growth is population since I was at school, when it was 56 million

[Suff]

Sorry Prof, but your economic model is bonkers and unsustainable.

It's one thing talking about money and company profits and the fairy stories that they make up.

However when you are talking about physical people taking up homes and services it's a different matter. GDP may grow, but NHS as a proportion of it will never grow at the same rate as immigration because GDP will not grow at the same rate as immigration. So we have a shortfall.

The crisis in Dentists is another point in case, where the NHS had to put in dental access centres in some places because it was impossible for at least 20% of the population to get a dentist.

UK GDP, per head of population, is already slightly higher than Germany. There is no reason why we should not make provision for our old age and take the load of public services. Ah, wait, that was before Gordon Brown did a 20bn raid on pensions and earned a 100bn impact on pensions liability....

Now we have a clear idea why Osborne was talking GDP greater than Germany by 2030. Germany has 89m people.....

The thing is, here is the reality. If we don't exit the EU this will happen eventually anyway. Because there are 540m people in the EU and the UK has the second highest wages, are in the bottom 5 for taxes and are in the top 5 for benefits in the entire EU. Which means we're going to suck in huge numbers of workers just for the money. Just like Switzerland did as soon as they opened up to Schengen and Schengen visas....

[Workingman]

I found it rather shocking that a qualified statistician, a Professor no less, could keep trotting out the line that we need a bigger population to continue paying pensions into the future. These things give the politicians a get-out, an excuse.

Where does it stop: 100 million, 120 million?

The country, land, does not get bigger. The more of us there are the less we individually get. We are not a country rich in natural resources, and those we do have are running out fast. And as I asked earlier, what work are all these millions of extra people going to do?

I worry that my children and grandchildren will be living in Basketcaseland unless they emigrate.

[Workingman]

We now have China announcing a relaxation of its one-child policy.

It is doing so for purely economic reasons. More people equals a bigger market, so more GDP growth. This is good, according to capitalist economists.

Forget that they all need more:... food, drinking water, housing, social services, schools, hospitals, pubs, bingo halls, arenas, planes, cars, trains, smartphones and broadband.

The global economy has to expand and keep on expanding or we all......

Ooops!

[Suff]

I did want to mention the 9 million already not contributing to the economy. The more people we suck in the higher that figure is going to be. If we keep on moaning about Quality of life and benefit recipients must have the same quality of life as someone who is working, then the benefits for those not working will outweigh the incomes of those who are sucked into the low paying jobs.

Surely it would be much better to pull even half of that 9 million back into work, even with 50% of their benefits as support for them, rather than sucking in new low wage immigrants who will also, eventually, swell that 9m number. What do we do when it's 25 million? Increase immigration to 2m a year?

It's a no win game. Unless we apply simple logic and start doing what needs to be done, the country will wind up as a slum.

I read a lot of sci fi books and one recurring theme is the state taking away all private land and forcing the vast majority of people to live in huge high rise monstrosities, so that we can house the billions of the 3rd world......

Not so Sci Fi then is is?

[Workingman]

Suff, re your last post, don't go there.

What are the increased millions going to do? What are their work prospects? What are the work prospects of the increasingly poorly educated Brits?

I worry, I seriously do.

[Suff]

No you misread me.

I'm saying put the millions already out of work back to work and send the other millions home. No more in until we have full employment for those we already have.

Anything else is a losing game.

[Workingman]

Sorry, yes you are right.

[cromwell]

More people equals a bigger market, so more GDP growth. This is good, according to capitalist economists.

Forget that they all need more:... food, drinking water, housing, social services, schools, hospitals, pubs, bingo halls, arenas, planes, cars, trains, smartphones and broadband.

Immigration has always been about big business and money. As you say, more people = more GDP = more profit. For some anyway.

GDP, the national "pie" gets bigger with immigration. But because there are so many more people in the country (we are probably past 70 million already), each individual's slice of that pie can actually get smaller.

But "economic growth" is the Holy Grail to politicians. And mass immigration is an easy way of getting economic growth, so all mainstream politicians love immigration.

But there have been various reports recently pointing out that robots will take many future jobs currently being done by humans.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-robot ... ?r=US&IR=T

Which will mean even fewer jobs for people to do, at the same time as we are importing millions of people into the country....

So - are all these new people going to find work or go on the dole? If they go on the dole, who is going to pay for them? And how?

Politicians have to stop thinking in the short term.