Net Effect of Immigration

The Guardian have published the latest study on the effect of immigration on the economy. It seems to fly in the face of the propaganda spat out by Migrationwatch and The Daily Mail. It has not arrived in the DM yet (no doubt it is undergoing the sort of stringent checks all their other statistic based stories go through at the DM border control) but I await the usual disbelief from the usual suspects who will dismiss this as Government propaganda. The delicious irony is of course that they write into a newspaper that would make Goebbels very happy. He probably would have had his own Melanie Phillips type column.


I'm not saying that the figures should be accepted wholesale but it does show that there is another side to the story. There are issues as to whether (in some industries) the availability of so-called flexible workers is forcing down wages. The trade unions have also looked into this and the prevailing view is that there has been no discernible large scale detriment to wages. Indeed there is a concern that there is exploitation of some foreign workers through agency and accommodation fees.

The report also delves into local issues which have been rehashed on an almost daily basis by our friends at the Mail. The story of one Police chief mentioning there may be a problem when calling for extra funds (for other matters too) was regurgitated into every immigration story in the DM's online site. At the moment it is more concerned with squirrel pancakes, loos for the Queen and the sale of Hitler's globe.

Interestingly, David Davis who can usually be relied upon to provide a quote in tandem with Andrew Green of Migrationwatch does not appear to dispute the accuracy of the figures. Of course, it is likely that the same people responsible for carrying out the survey would have conducted any made by the Tories if they were in power.

There does need to be a debate on how to tackle any difficulties but let's move the debate into the adult world, and out of the xenophobic playground.


The article is worth publishing in full: there is also a pdf file of the report.

• Migrants are more highly skilled and often more reliable and hardworking than British workers and are fuelling the country's economic growth to the tune of £6bn a year, according to the first official study of their impact published today.
  The report for the government's migration impact forum - which is considering the current restrictions on entry by Romanian and Bulgarian workers to the UK - also concluded that migrants on average earned more and so paid more tax than UK workers.
  
  The joint Treasury, Home Office and Department for Work and Pensions study found that the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Poles and other east European workers had had "no discernible" impact on unemployment and had led to only a "modest dampening of wage growth" for British workers at the bottom end of the earnings league.
• The report said 574,000 migrants came to live in Britain on a long-term basis in the 12 months to June 2006, and 385,000 left, giving a net incoming figure of 189,000 - down 28% compared with the previous year's net inflow of 262,000.The first regional soundings by the government, also published today, showed that in seven out of eight regions in England migration had put pressure on housing, and five out of eight regions reported difficulties on crime and education.
• The overwhelmingly positive official verdict on the economic and fiscal impact of the largest wave of migration to Britain in recent years is likely to prove highly controversial.
  The shadow home secretary, David Davis, accused Labour ministers of ignoring the fact that relying on immigration to boost the economy was only a short-term answer.
  But the immigration minister, Liam Byrne, insisted the report demonstrated that Britain was better off with immigration rather than without it.
• He admitted, however, that the pace of change, particularly in communities that did not have a history of absorbing migrants, had been unsettling and had created challenges for public services.
• Mr Byrne said it was time for a "new balance" in immigration policy.
  The migration impact forum meets tomorrow to discuss whether the restrictions on Romanian and Bulgarian workers coming to Britain should be lifted. A decision is to be announced before the end of the year.

As a post script to this, I know that readers from Poland sometimes come to the site through google etc. I am due to visit Poland next month so would welcome tips on where to visit etc. I intend to go to Wroclaw (Breslau) and go to Auschwitz for one day.

Shut That Bloody Door

Tories pledge cut number of immigrants coming into Britain

Regardless of the poor grammar, the Daily Mail must have been salivating at the thought of the Tory heir apparent, David Davis making a speech about their raison d'etre.

Again I would say that it is a risky road to travel down for the Tories. The Labour Party has positioned itself (as far as policy is concerned) in such a way as to check any major assault. This is not popular with the left but it makes sense when looking at political expediency. We have to bite the bullet, grasp the nettle and use other idioms.

So, here's Davey...

• The Shadow Home Secretary vowed to shut Labour's open door policy which is swelling the population by nearly 200,000 a year.

Notice the use of the phrase, 'open door', which has been abused to the hilt over recent years; hence the constant refrain of Mail readers of pulling up the drawbridge on Castle Albion. But Davis has compassion. Witness his desire to eradicate inequality in the armed forces:

• Then the other great failure. While they are letting in too many people who shouldn't be here, they slam the door on those we should be helping. Like the Gurkha who won a Victoria Cross fighting for Britain. Don't we have a moral duty to protect people like him?

A laudable cause and not the least bit populist. The respected lawyer Phil Shiner sums up the plight of the Gurkhas and how they have been treated by EVERY Government:

• "The Gurkhas have been discriminated against by the British for years and treated disgracefully. (It is) 'Colonial racism' "They are paid less, have much smaller pensions, less prospects of promotion and worse redundancy terms." .....Another example was that while a British soldier could have his wife and family with him when he is posted abroad, a Gurkha is allowed only three years' family leave out of 15 years of service.

Ironically, the barrister representing the interests of the Gurkhas in this particular case was one Cherie Booth QC. Wicked Witch, Mr Littlejohn? What have YOU done to help the cause? Exactly. No further questions, M'lud.

It was a Labour Government that presided over a change in law to aid their cause. On the 8th March 2007, it was announced that all Gurkhas who signed up after July 1st, 1997 would receive a pension equivalent to that of their British counterparts. Of course, this did not help those serving before the cut off date. However, did the Tories attempt this when in powe

• The Government last week admitted that net immigration is running at two-hundred thousand every year.

Of course, this figure is not acceptable to some deranged Mail readers. Exhibit A

• I think it is a gross underestimate to say that 200,000 immigrants are swelling the population - more like 2,000,000!- June O'Brien, London England
  

I'm always suspicious of anyone who needs to say they are from London, England. It is a very American trait. Just in case we mistake it with London, Ohio..........USA. She thinks it is a gross underestimate so she adds an arbitrary nought to multiply by ten. June, do me a favour and come back when your IQ reaches double figures without creative accountancy.

Another point to be made (courtesy of Wikipedia):

• The nationality status of Gurkhas and their families was also previously an area of dispute, with claims that some ex-army Nepalese families were being denied residency and forced to leave Britain. The new policy on Gurkhas (announced by the British Government on 8th March, 2007) guarantees residency rights in Britain for retired Gurkhas and their families.
  


• A considerable number of ex-Gurkhas and their families live in Hong Kong, where they are particularly well represented in the private security profession (G4S Gurkha Services Ltd, Pacific Crown Security Service, Sunkoshi Gurkha Security Limited) or labourers.
  In July 2006, British authorities granted full British citizenship to all Nepalese and their dependants serving the British army during its stays in Britain's colonial territories namely Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and among other former territories, entitling them a full privilege to stay and work in the United Kingdom. According to the press secretary approximately there are 140,000 eligible to application.

This is one of my major bugbears with the Tories. Whilst we can all understand some of the stories they relate, it is hypocrisy for them to slate the Labour Government when they did nothing. We can all be critical of the NHS, the railway system, low wages or the housing problem; we can all have a legitimate swipe at Labour for its failures. However, we should always remember which party opposed the creation of the National Health Service, told us the minimum wage would cause businesses to collapse, privatised everything that moved (on tracks or otherwise) and sold off public sector housing.

More Davisspeak:

• This is "New" New Labour. Soundbite by Brown, Policy by Prada.

I really don't understand this bit. I passed by Prada in Milan last week and am none the wiser. Does he mean Pravda? The only Brown that sprang to mind was Mel B of the Spice Girls (I'm informed they are a popular girl combo).

Another (shooting fish in a barrel) quote from Vox Mailus Populi (my O Level Latin didn't stretch to conjugating this correctly so I have visions of The Life Of Brian: 'Romanus eunt domus'.

• Not before time. They must also ensure the SUCCESSFUL closure of the illegal immigration routes.- Bill, Saint Quay Portrieux, France.

Yeh, stop all those foreigners getting in to....er......France! Just think this pillock probably has a vote in UK elections.

• At last this is the statement we whant to hear, now carry it out, nevermind the political objecters.- Naughton Dunn, Marbella

Excuse me? whant? Spain? Garlic Bread? Nevermind was a Nirvana album (popular 90s beat combo).

• About time too. To many free loaders coming in taking the houses that we are already short off. Around the world we are seen as being to easy, stop paying them benefits and you will see them start leaving in their droves!- Mark, Lincoln

As I outlined in a previous post it is a myth that we are seen as a soft touch or the place to go. Whilst we can always find anecdotal evidence to support this conjecture, it falls down in the face of the facts. We are not the top destination of choice for asylum seekers/immigrants (even allowing for this lumping together).

• Nu Labour's immigration policy is not so much a policy, as a sanctioned invasion!- Marilyn Havers, London, UK

Any relation to Nigel, or Lord Hailsham? Watch out Marilyn, they're coming for you!

Perhaps the final point should be left to blogger Iain Dale:

• I leave Blackpool more optimistic about the future than I have been for a long time. Gordon Brown will know the Tory Party is back - and back with a vengeance. Brown has a real dilemma now. If he calls an election he loses, and if he doesn't call an election he loses.

Hmmm. we shall see!