Warning: Politics Alert!
Katesgrove has a large number of Gurkha veterans living in the ward. Their hopes and, indeed, expectations had been got up by the Labour Government that a change to the unfair and discriminatory settlement policies of the UK would be changed.
Today their hopes have been cruelly dashed, as another piece of cruel spin - see the way the BBC reported how Labour wanted the news to be reported at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8014265.stm - has been shown up for the hollow lie it is.
Not very long ago I lived in Reading next door to a Gurkha family whose elderly grandfather was facing removal from this country. There will be families of people who fought wars for this country in Reading now facing removal by our immigration 'service' while others from other countries are allowed to stay, as a result of this announcement. It is discrimination, pure and simple.
The Government minister responsible is Phil Woolas - a man whose closest friends could not dare describe as a beacon of tolerance and fairness. How any Minister can make this sort of shameless, shabby announcement as a Government from a party supposedly committed to equality, I simply do not know.
There is another aspect to this decision which (in my opinion) makes it even worse. Apparently, Gurkhas who are Officers or who have medals for gallantry have priority! Imagine if that approach had been uttered by crusty old Tory Generals before the 1914 War - we would all be outraged, but now the Labour Party adopts an approach which is cruel and stupid in the extreme. It takes no account of the way the modern army operates, for one thing. What sort of message does this give to a Squaddy in Afghanistan, struggling to keep a valuable supply line open, at risk from being blown up by a roadside bomb, but apparently not valued for his contribution as he is not an Officer or in the direct line of fire?
Posted by: David Langshaw | Saturday, 25 April 2009 at 18:59