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EU immigration into Britain

ARGUMENTS FOR:

The 600,000 immigrants who have entered the UK to work since their countries joined the EU in 2004 are good for business. Sir Digby Jones of the CBI says they are prepared to work for low wages, and "come here with skills and education that we no longer seem able to provide for our own workforce".

Immigrants actually drive down costs in construction, for example, filling gaps in the skilled economy that have previously driven up wages. Immigrant workers comprise eight per cent of the workforce but ten per cent of the UK's Gross Domestic Product.

According to accountants Ernst & Young, immigrants are net contributors to the Treasury too, easing the nation's pension bill through taxable earnings and keeping interest rates around 0.5 per cent lower than they would otherwise be - knocking £500 off the average annual mortgage payment.

EU accession state workers are actually remarkably economically independent from the state. Most do not bring dependents.

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ARGUMENTS AGAINST:

The government seems to have little control over immigration. The 600,000 figure announced yesterday is at variance, to say the least, with the prediction that only 15,000 workers from EU accession countries would enter the UK every year to work.

The true costs of immigration can't be quantified until it is under control - an immediate cap, as suggested by the Tories and backed by Labour MPs Frank Field and John Denham, would provide this.

Domestic unemployment is rising and is at its highest level for six years. Though immigrant workers fill gaps in the economy, many of these could be filled by UK nationals.

The 427,000 EU immigrant workers who have registered in the UK since 2004 have brought with them 36,000 dependents. So far 27,000 child benefit applications have been approved for them. A leaked civil service memo revealed government fears that schools and hospitals will struggle to cope with the demands these immigrant families place on them.

FIRST POSTED AUGUST 23, 2006

News & Comment: News & Politics