Reading the letters (8 December) in response to Claire Armitstead’s article (Thanks to James Cleverly, I may never live in the same country as my kids again, 6 December) only reinforced the increasing sadness and anger I am already feeling. My family is in a similar situation to those of your correspondents.
But frankly, what did anyone expect from this government? An early sign was Brexit. We now have our “sovereignty” and should be duly ashamed of how we are exercising it. There were enough who wished to isolate themselves from Europe and enough who voted for this rightwing xenophobic political party to result in the inhumanity now being facilitated in our name. They have allowed lives to be ruined, opportunities denied, the world to become a more toxic and hostile place. They move among us in our local communities, perhaps as our neighbours, acquaintances or even, in some cases, friends. I despair.
Sue Kimberley
Eastbourne, East Sussex
• I’m struggling to comprehend what the new visa rules mean to us as a family. We are four months away from applying for a renewal, having saved for the increased NHS surcharge and visa fee, and it’s like we’ve been rolled up in the rug under our feet and thrown off a bridge.
There is no way I’m going to magically meet this new threshold in the time given. I’m caught in an artificial net cynically made by the Tories, and my family is essentially screwed. I walk around feeling as though every British person who supports the Conservatives values our contribution to the UK and my British children’s futures in the UK – not to mention my parents’ mental and physical health – as worth less than a single-digit decrease in legal migration. The lack of any further information since the announcement only confirms their complete and utter contempt for us.
I can’t begin to express the pain, stress, anger, worry and turmoil I’m feeling, having told my wife in 2021, “we’ll have a better life in the UK”. What a fool I am, to believe my own country cares for me and those I love.
Malcolm Boyd
Menston, Bradford
• I am so angry and ashamed of this government. Its new policy on immigration, if it had been in place in 1946, would have excluded my Dutch mother from moving here to be with my late dad. So me and my three siblings might never have existed. My late husband would never have been allowed to settle here in the 1970s. So my two children would not have existed.
My son is married to a Spanish woman. She saw this horror coming, so she applied for UK citizenship at great cost. All my siblings, their kids and mine are well-educated and hold down professional jobs.
We all feel totally betrayed and resentful of this country now, and I wish that when my parents came here in 1946 they’d decided to settle elsewhere. Our varied and successful family came about by my war-hero dad marrying a Dutch girl all those years ago. I really fear for the future and multicultural families such as mine. This government has trashed all that is good and kind and inclusive about my home country.
Nicola Badger
Chagford, Devon
