Aug 30 2007
Immigration and the freedom of movement
Today the Leader of the Conservative party has called for some controls on the number of immigrants. He is right to do so.
I wish to look at the economic consequences of rapid inward migration of the kind we have been experiencing under the present UK government.
Labour has allowed and welcomed this large inflow for two main reasons. The first is they wished to give in to Brussels and accept open borders with the EU. They surrendered the Conservative negotiated opt out from the common borders policy. This has meant that anyone gaining entry to any of the member states of the Union then has the opportunity to come to the UK, usually without challenge from the UK authorities. The second is they wanted a ready supply of willing labour to take the less popular and lower paid jobs, to offset some of the inflexibilities they have built into the existing UK workforce through the benefit system and labour regulation.
The government has claimed two economic successes for this policy. The first is UK total output has expanded more rapidly, because more people and more jobs have been added. The second is that some of the new migrants have had useful skills which have been in short supply in the UK. Many families are grateful for the arrival of the legendary Polish plumbers.
However, the economic effects are not as benign as the government argues. Firstly, not all the immigrants have taken additional jobs. Some have taken jobs that might otherwise have gone to local unemployed. We do not lack potential workers. 5.4 million people already settled here of working age living on benefit are without any job. Secondly, what matters is growth in income per head, not simple growth in total income. The new arrrrivals have probably not boosted income per head or productivity overall.Thirdly, some of the migrant labour has been abused, working without the most basic legal protections.
Any rich country faces a dilemma over migrants. Most countries like ours wish to offer asylum to those who are fleeing persecution. That accounts for a small proportion of current migration. We might wish to recruit some people with special skills from abroad, as a quicker and cheaper way of acquiring those skills. However, there must be limits to the total number of people we can accept at any given time, given the restrictions on housing stock, school places and other important public services.There should also be some sense of shame if we end up recruiting too many nurses and doctors, for example, from much poorer countries who need them.
Any migrant who gains legal entry to the UK as a citizen immediately gains great financial benefits for themselves and their family. There are income benefits:they become eligible for a whole range of state payments if they are ill, old, out of work or in other trouble. There are capital benefits: they can immediately use roads, railways,schools, hospitals paid for by existing taxpayers. If the numbers coming are moderate this can be managed. If the numbers become too large then the UK has to spend big sums on a major expansion of roads, railways and other public facilities.
The latest proposals from government housing Inspectors to build on more flood plain in the South east and to build over much loved green gaps and green space are one of the consequences of rapid inward migration.
On economic grounds alone, the sensible conclusion is we should control the numbers allowed to come and work here,and allowed to become citizens. We need our opt out back from the EU so we can have full control over our borders.we could have more control than we currently exercise even within current EU arrangements.
We should be much more inviting for short term visitors. Tourism, travel and the exchange of ideas are generally good things. All should be allowed visitor entry, unless their purpose of visit is to commit crime. We should also look at the way overseas visitors pay for their share of the use of our facilities. Ken Livingstone has gone partially in the direction of a discount for regular tube users - more likely to be citizens - and higher prices for occasional users - more likely to be tourists through his Tube card. I am backing a scheme to tax foreign lorries more, as they at the moment pay so much less tax to the UK authorities when using our roads than their competitor UK lorries.There need to be fair payment arrangements when visitors use other public facilities which have been provided by the UK taxpayer.
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John Redwood has been the Member of Parliament for Wokingham since 1987. First attending Kent College, Canterbury, he graduated from Magdalen College...
Immigration needs to be about quality rather than quantity. We must stop people coming into our country who lack skills, who have a criminal record and who don’t speak English. As John correctly says it suits Labour’s agenda to have mass imigration. Over the last ten years two and ahalf million immigrants have entered our country. That is equal to half the population of Scotland. This is not acceptable, particularly at a time when we can’t find work for the 5.4 million jobless in Britain. When an immigrant comes into Britain he/she either works or is on benefit. If he/she is working than means one of our own unemployed lose out on getting that job. If they are on benefit that means the taxpayer has to support them. Both ways we, as a nation, lose out. I’d like to see immigration linked to unemployment figures, when unemployment is high, and 5.4 million is very high, then we should impose severe quotas on the number of immigrants who can enter.
Another aspect is that Labour’s tax and benefits system has disincentivised local people (whether white British, or from families that came to the UK as immigrants in the past) from taking jobs because they believe they are better off on benefits. To meet these apparent labour market shortages, employers have been forced to recruit people from Eastern Europe (such as Latvia) and elsewhere in the world. The Government really does need to make work pay - and tax cuts (or fairer Tax Credits) for people on low incomes would perhaps be a good start.
” Ken Livingstone has gone partially in the direction of a discount for regular tube users - more likely to be citizens - and higher prices for occasional users - more likely to be tourists through his Tube card ”
Yes, but there is a downside to this attitude to occassional visitors and that is we’ll stop coming! We only visit London once per year to take our children to the museums and theatres which are inconveniently all sited in the one location in the UK which is the most expensive to enjoy. We get charged to park our vehicle
The immigration debate, I was wondering when the Tories would venture back into this particular jungle. I can’t help wondering whether it was some sort of cunning plan of Camerons, to keep cuddling huskies and hoodies until Labour was confident it could muscle in on another bit of what is seen as traditional Tory territory. Result - now that Brown has taken a public stance he can’t smear the Tories as racist, but beware his grass-roots minions and mouthpieces will.
Of course there has to be a limit to inward migration and population growth, it’s about the only no-brainer in social politics. The biggest losers from high levels of inward migration are the poorest, often recent migrants themselves.
I also think we have to ditch this idea that we are not allowed to criticise foreign cultures. In terms of the common values of mainstream British society, we are importing a lot of dodgy practices. These range from minor irritations such as Eastern Europeans who like to eat course fish and mallards to abominations from the third-world such as honour killings.
Surely without a common set of values British civilisation becomes weak and fractures - hence all this talk of a broken society during these uber-liberal ‘anything goes’ times of ours.
Steven_L, Indeed, it is very unhealthy that we are not allowed to question foreign cultures. Political correctness is thought control. Insidious self-censorship. I do not like the way that certain cultures regard women as second-class citizens and I don’t like the violent practices that come as part of the Voodoo culture. We are a free, open and democratic society. We must speak out against negative aspects of foreign cultures. The left/liberals will try to label us as racists but we must not be deterred. If we believe in humanitarian values we must stand up against those use culture and religion to violate the rights of others.
The above claim by Mountjoy that we need immigrants because of the substantial proportion of Brits living on benefits is a common misconception. As far as I can make out from an IPPR study “Britain’s Immigrants: An Economic Profile”, the proportion of native Brits of working age going out to work is 78% as against 70% for immigrants.
‘Today the Leader of the Conservative party has called for some controls on the number of immigrants. He is right to do so.’
Great idea Dave! We can’t support the world…
I have made this point before and even talking in the pub there is not one person with any ideas.
How do you stop fit, intelligent 18-30 year olds from more poor circumstances (phrase left out as incorrect - Ed) from coming here? How should they be found and removed? They are here illegally! Should you stop and remove them?
Until anyone, never mind a politician, comes up with some firm answers to these questions they are just talking.
When a non EEC citizen comes here contrary to popular belief they are entitled to little more than health care. We are civilized? They are not allowed to work and receive no money. Writing as a person with a Russian wife.
To get her here I had to go through an interview with British embassy officials in Moscow showing a lot of personal documentation. Letters, bank statements, phone bills etc. After we got the visa the official told us he had a Russian wife and saw himself as a Gatekeeper. He said had interviewed sixteen year old boys telling him they are directors of large companies and 80 year old men who look like they will drop dead on the first night! As well as most in between.
Bearing in mind this is already in place. Could anyone tell me how you stop Illegal immigration from places like Russia and its former states. This where most will be coming from in the near future. There is already a lot here, and are by far the fastest growing ethic group. Via my wife I can understand what they are saying at the supermarket checkouts. They are family’s. How do you stop Ivan on his own…?