The Gurkhas ought to be allowed to stay
They served us, so we ought to serve them
I cannot for the life of me understand this Labour government’s objection to allowing Gurkha soldiers, who have served this country so proudly, to take British Citizenship if they left the service before 1997, and I’m sure the majority of South Shields people would agree with me. Yet at the same time we allow sundry terrorists, asylum seekers, economic migrants, and paedophiles to take residence here and consume our resources, sometimes this Labour government gets it’s priorities confused (to say the least)
This stupid arbitrary rule needs to be rescinded and veterans who retired pre 1997 ought to be allowed to settle here with a decent pension, we wouldn’t dream of turning Chelsea Pensioners away would we?
Over at Lib-Dem Voice you can find a decent post illustrating how the Dutch and the French treat their oversees servicemen, there are some lessons to be learned here.
It seems absurd to open our doors to criminals yet slam them closed in the face of the Gurkhas!
I agree with you 100 per cent that New Labour’s treatment of the Gurkhas has been appalling. The only Government I can recall treating them worse was the Conservative Government of Margaret Thatcher.
Comment by Bryan — March 22, 2008 @ 11:52 am
The fact is they have been shoddily treated by this Country (Specifically the Government) for two hundred years.
I had the honour to serve with the Ghurkas in a number of locations around the world and can honestly say that their love of our Queen was quite extraordinary, she was adored by them.
The used to get less than half the wages of what British Servicemen and women got but carried on with total commitment on behalf of our Country.
These fine ex soldiers deserve respect from the Government and should be looked after into their old age, and they should receive the same pension payments as British Services Personnel.
Comment by bigron — March 22, 2008 @ 2:27 pm