Is the UK booming or bursting?

Philippe Legrain discusses the environmental argument against immigration with Rosamund McDougall of the Optimum Population Trust on Channel 4 News.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Philippe
• Legrain
• Immigrants
• Immigration
• UK
• migration
• environment
• population
• debate

[AtariBacklash]

Well done Philippe, that's the typical non-considerate, short sighted, bury-your-head-in-the-sand, based upon a flawed non-sustainable model economist's view I expected from you. I noticed you weren't willing to provide an optimum population figure, maybe this is because in truth you're clueless? Or maybe it's because all you care about is output, output, output and not what's left over after you've sucked the planet dry. Twat.

[Makadonska27]

Dont blame the immigrants themselves. They wouldnt be here if the government didnt encourage it. The government is the problem. The world has a population problem, this is seen as fact by scientists of far more wisdom than I. Until all countries control their population this will get worse. But the UK just doesnt have the infrastructure to support the immigrant population we are allowing.

[galindes]

It is refreshing to hear some sense in a world full of emotionally-driven uninformed and ultimately racist people who like to bury their heads in the sands of their prejudices.

Thank you Philippe for giving a voice to all of us who are daily in the receiving end of the hatred ill-informed closed-minded people who do not understand that, in the end, immigration is good for all.

[rupertbreheny]

Typical economist nonsense. These guys require more people at the base of the pyramid to maintain their economic house of cards, and encouraging larger family sizes for a quick fix is the equivalent of an in debt family getting an overdraft extension. It might let them buy that holiday outing on credit, but it just delays and indeed exacerbates the inevitable day of reckoning. Sad that Rosalind hold him to his "optimum population number" or counter his tired old "I suppose you want a cull" gag.

[rupertbreheny]

Typical economist nonsense. These guys require more people at the base of the pyramid to maintain their economic house of cards, and encouraging larger family sizes for a quick fix is the equivalent of an in debt family getting an overdraft extension. It might let them buy that holiday outing on credit, but it just delays and indeed exacerbates the inevitable day of reckoning. Sad that Rosalind hold him to his "optimum population number" or counter his tired old "I suppose you want a cull" gag.

[AtariBacklash]

@FreddieBambino

In addition, increasing the population to solve the economic crisis would ultimately make it worse, as environmental damage will weaken our resources, which will weaken trade. A decrease in population will lessen almost all of our current problems.

A recent YouGov poll showed that 51% of the UK citizens polled didn't want the population higher than 60 million. Only 8% said that they wanted it higher.

[AtariBacklash]

@FreddieBambino

Have you heard of peak oil? What do you think will happen when we reach peak oil, and can no longer afford to import food to feed a population that is greater then the UK's current carrying capacity? We cannot just breed our way out of the mess we are in.

England alone is home to approximately 52 million people, making it the fifth most densely populated country in the world - if small city and island states are excluded - with inhabitants packed in at 398 per square km.

[FreddieBambino]

@AtariBacklash

What the fuck is a matter with you mate, dont you have any ambitions for your country. A policy to reduce the population, fucking idiots. UK, France, Germany and Italy have way too small population already, you should be doing everything to boosting your birth rate.

1 thing is for sure, if you plan to reduce the population then you better get going on paying up the public debt, before the nation shrinks and the debt becomes uncontrollable.

[SPAnsw]

I get so sick of hearing economists say there is no optimum/maximum population

(0:56) as if the planet were as infinite as their mathematical models, and that there's plenty of empty farmland to build housing and cities on (4:27) as if we didn't need that land to feed ourselves. It's just too bad that the economists have the ear of government and not the scientists, because our world will end up looking like "Blade Runner".