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AIBU?

to think Rotherham council have lost the plot over UKIP foster-carers?

792 replies

londonone · 24/11/2012 09:23

bbc

I really really hope there is more to this than is being reported, otherwise I am utterly speechless.

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dawntigga · 24/11/2012 09:29

On the other hand would you like to have children fostered by people who leak out that they don't really want the children in this county? And it WILL leak out regardless of what they say. They can't possibly live in I'm ok/you're ok if they hold views that contradict that for these children.

ThereWILLBeMoreToThisTiggaxx

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cheekybaubles · 24/11/2012 09:29

Don't really have a lot of sympathy for anyone who supports ukip

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londonone · 24/11/2012 09:32

Leak out? What are you on about? People are able to hold personal views! Ukip arent the BNP you know!

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bradywasmyfavouriteking · 24/11/2012 09:33

Tbf I can see the councils point.

The couple joined a political party. That party feels the children do not have the right to be here. So therefore that is the couples stance. The council have to wonder if a person who thinks the child has no rights here, will look after council.

I think this is more of a case of people joining and voting for political parties they know very little about.

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bradywasmyfavouriteking · 24/11/2012 09:35

Ukip arent the BNP you know

No far off though.

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londonone · 24/11/2012 09:35

Please could you link me to the UKIP policy that says the children have no right to be here? Of course we could judge them on the fact hat they have been good foster carers for many years, but it seems that wouldbe sensible.

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bradywasmyfavouriteking · 24/11/2012 09:36

Not look after council. I meant look after the children

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TheMysteryCat · 24/11/2012 09:39

By the sounds of it, then didn't just instantly remove the children, but had meetings with the parents to explore their views over several days. Would guess therefore that the council really did feel the children would be better placed elsewhere and the carers' political views were incompatible with caring for these particular children.

I understand why the huge press interest, but it does actually sound like a proper process was carried out. Dread to think what the shrieky tabloid headlines will be...

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bradywasmyfavouriteking · 24/11/2012 09:40
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londonone · 24/11/2012 09:41

Mystery - maybe you read a different article to me but it didn't sound like SW explored any ideas other than there own.

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Rhinestone · 24/11/2012 09:41

UKIP are not a racist party - they promote civic nationalism like the Scottish National Party. No-one would object to SNP members fostering children. UKIP also have a number of minority ethnic candidates - I think Rusty Lee was a candidate at the last election as was the postmaster originally from Sri Lanka, now British, who made the headlines saying that he wouldn't serve benefits claimants who made no attempt to speak English.

UKIP do believe immigration should be drastically reduced - so do lots of people, including Brits of a non-white background. It's about space, not race.

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Rhinestone · 24/11/2012 09:43

Meant to add, the BNP differ from UKIP in that the BNP promotes ethnic nationalism - also known as racism!

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PessaryPam · 24/11/2012 09:43

OP it's another step towards a totalitarian society. Even the Labour party has decried this decision.

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Posterofapombear · 24/11/2012 09:43

Just because UKIP are smarter than your average racist doesn't mean they aren't racist.

The state cannot condone children being brought up with these kinds of views. Particularly not when they are the victims of them.

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ErikNorseman · 24/11/2012 09:44

We really don't know much about this case but when I was working in a LAC role I would raise serious concerns about carers of BME (or any actually) children being members of UKIP. It demonstrates a strong commitment to a xenophobic/borderline racist ideology which is simply inappropriate in foster carers, particularly of non white children.
In my LA there would have been a lot of exploring of their views and the children would have only been removed if the carers had proved to be a)racist and/or b) really intractable and insensitive about what the membership said about their views in a wider context. It wouldn't be a snap decision.

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londonone · 24/11/2012 09:44

Brady ? Did you mean to link to something that failed to back your point up?

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TheMysteryCat · 24/11/2012 09:44

It was an interview on bbc news with the head of dept that managed the case. She came across as very reasonable and was clear and not at all defensive or evasive.

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Cozy9 · 24/11/2012 09:45

Taking children from people on the grounds of political support is utterly ridiculous. Rotherham council is an utter joke, hence the town being in a shambles. Can you imagine a Tory council removing children from parents with SWP or Labour membership?

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TheMysteryCat · 24/11/2012 09:47

pessarypam that's not what labour have said at all. They've just raised a query about why and what the process was.

eriknorseman that's pretty much what the council staff member just said.

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Cozy9 · 24/11/2012 09:51

How many children have social services allowed to be killed or abused? There has been a massive amount of cases of girls abused by asian men in Rotherham. What is the councils response? Taking children from UKIP members! What exactly are they trying to prove?

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PessaryPam · 24/11/2012 09:51

Jimmy Savile is being made a non-person too, all trace of him is being expunged from the BBC archives. We are truly heading to a Soviet future step by step.

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londonone · 24/11/2012 09:52

Erick - I would find your lack of political tolerance inappropriate in someone working in public services.

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Cozy9 · 24/11/2012 09:52

This is what you get when you vote Labour. A town that is poor and getting poorer, and social services that take children away from people with the wrong views.

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Bsegettiontoast · 24/11/2012 09:54

The council have not said that the couple are to be removed as foster carers just that these particular children are to be removed from their care. As the children are from a group of people the couple have actively taken a 'stance' against by joining a particular political party then I do think the council were sensible in removing them and placing them elsewhere.
The views the couple hold must mean something to them as they have not just voted for UKIP but have paid money to join their party and as someone said up thread the views of the party and therefore of the couple are incompatible with caring for these particular children.

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piprabbit · 24/11/2012 09:54

From what I can make out, Rotherham council think that this point in the UKIP Immigration Policy:

"End the active promotion of the doctrine of multiculturalism by local and national government and all publicly funded bodies"

is incompatible with the requirement that foster parents:

"Help [the children] to feel positive about their origins, religion and culture".

They do seem to have a point TBH and I'm sure that there is more to the decision to actually remove the children.

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