I’ve written at length about Immigration to the UK on this site before. It’s the only political topic related to Britain we believe it is OK for us to comment about since we are not UK voters. There has been some disturbing news of late and it’s worth parsing down and analysing for those that dream of moving to Britain one day.
As most Anglophile conscious readers know, the UK has an election coming up. It has to happen by June. It could happen earlier. We won’t know when until Prime Minister Gordon Brown decides to call it. An election time is an exciting time for Anglophiles to watch the British political system at work. However, it’s most unsettling right now because, as expected due to the econopocalypse, immigration is the hot button election issue.
The fact that it is such an issue is absurd because those in charge are only taking stands on immigration because it sells with voters who are scared about their job prospects and the advent of ‘multicultural Britain.’ Basically trashing immigrants sells to ‘middle England’ – the predominantly white middle aged populace that pretty much decides the outcome of the election.
David Cameron, whom I have a lot of respect for, has decided that the Tories will take a stand on immigration if they get elected and introduce Quotas that will limit the number of migrants to the UK.
As if the dizzying array of red tape required to immigrate to Britain wasn’t enough to deter people, they would like to create arbitrary limits to stem the flow of people into Britain.
There are many reasons why UK Immigration caps are a bad idea. Here’s a few:
- Britain Can’t Limit EU Migrants to the UK – Citizens of the EU can live and work freely in the UK and this is by far the largest group of immigrants right now. They would be exempt from a cap in immigration unless Britain decides to quit the EU – which won’t happen.
- Spousal Visas – Almost 40,000 people a year come to Britain because they’ve married a British citizen and are entitled to settle in Britain. A cap would have to exclude them too.
- Returning Expats – They can’t block British Citizens who’ve left Britain for sunnier climes from coming back.
So, when you look at the numbers of people that a cap would affect, it would only actually affect 20% of immigrants to Britain. That 20% is the people from outside the EU who must already qualify to high standards to apply under the Points Based System.
Immigration Caps would punish highly skilled migrants who wish to settle in the UK and make an economic contribution to the development of Britain.
To add insult to injury, net migration to Britain is down over the past few years, mostly due to the economy and EU nationals returning to their home countries.
So, why do the UK conservatives think immigration caps are necessary? They simply aren’t. It’s a blatant grab for votes that plays on anti-immigration fears.
Look, we know there is a huge problem with illegal immigration in the UK. That’s not what this policy is designed for. This policy will be designed to punish the hardworking, qualified people who are trying to come to the UK legally. Creating arbitrary limits on immigration will not stop illegal immigration to the UK.
Britain will not stop illegal immigration by punishing us.
The new British Points Based System has been a great success in political terms. It’s done a good job of reducing the pool of migrants, making sure those truly qualified get to Britain and generating fees for the home office. The PBS is already a de facto immigration quota system. More quotas are not necessary.
If the Tories do get elected, my only hope is that those planning to immigrate to the UK can speed up their plans to get in before the Tories can get around to introducing new legislation, which will take some time.
I’m sure this issue will develop as the election season goes on and we will keep you updated.
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dreams of traveling to the UK whenever we want a reality.
I think if you speak to 100 British people, you’ll probably find a majority of them would prefer a complete ban on immigration for the foreseable future. From anywhere. There is insufficient work for British citizens, let alone for those who wish to come and live here, so why on earth would we be happy to admit any more people who have neither skills or language ability. America wouldn’t allow anyone to arrive there and simply attach themselves to the benefit system and expect to be catered for. Neither would Australia. Or Canada. Why should it happen here? The fact that people from EU states can simply walk into Britain, without any check whatsoever, has resulted in an influx of foreign criminals – 14% of our prison population are now foreigners – and Interpol recently revealed that the bulk of the most wanted men in Europe are hiding safely in this country. Deportation when sentences are served? Surely for murderers and rapists? Not a chance. It would infringe their Human Rights. No mention of our Human Right not to have them living amongst us. So the government has now taken to bribing released EU prisoners to the tune of £5000 – thats $8,167 – to return to their own countries. Asylum seekers who have been denied residency, after years of protracted and expensive legal argument paid for by our taxes, are now paid £3000 plus air tickets to return home. There is nothing to stop them tuning round at Calais and starting the whole process again And while this largesse is being dished out, elderly Britons who have paid into the system all their lives have to exist on the lowest state pension in Europe. They have to sit out the winter in a house they can’t afford to heat. They are told that if they wish to enter a nursing home when they become too infirm, they’ll have to sell the home they spent their lives paying for to finance their care, something their National Insurance contributions has already paid for.
That then, is why the British wish to see the door on immigrants firmly closed. Two successive governments have allowed this state of affairs to develop. The current one may crow about introducing the minimum wage-but it only did so in the cynical knowledge that there would be plenty of immigrants who would be happy to work illegally for half of it. So the contest is between two parties, neither of whom have the competence or the courage to resolve the shambles they have created. New Labour are a bunch of cowards, who didn’t even have the guts to dump the megalomaniac Brown, who’ll surely drag them into the obscurity they deserve. The core of voters they enjoyed – the working class – have now long deserted them. The Tories claim to have re-invented themselves as the caring party but have had difficulty convincing anyone. They have promised to undo much of Labour’s meddling and social experimentation but cannot deliver what most Britons want: our ticket out of the EU. A pretty uneddifying prospect awaits us.
Hi Jim -
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. We really appreciate it. However, I must respectfully disagree with many of the points you make. You’re conflating two different issues here – highly skilled workers who are filling positions that no Britons can fill and the issue of illegal immigration. These are two separate issues.
I’m slightly insulted that you think I want to move to the UK and sponge of the benefits system. And the point of my article was that putting caps on immigration will only affect the 20% of immigrants to the UK – the highly qualified people who want to come to the UK and live and work. You cannot halt all immigration because you can’t control who Britons marry, you can’t control which Britons move abroad and return home. You can’t control children born to Britons abroad wanting to return to the motherland.
Illegal immigration is another issue entirely and frankly, halting all immigration will not halt illegal immigration either. People will always find a way to illegally get into the UK – you’re a giant island with thousands of miles of unprotected beach. To prevent it, you would have to close the borders completely, including to ALL TOURISTS. Are you suggesting that’s a good idea?
The job situation in Britain is not as dire as you paint. Go to any UK job site, there are THOUSANDS of job openings. Thousands. And did you know that all jobs in the UK have to be advertised for 4 weeks in the Job Centre, before they can appear in a place that foreigners can see? So, taking your jobs is not happening via legal immigration of highly skilled workers. We’re filling a skills vacuum that Britain needs to stay competitive in the world economy.
I’m not going to defend the US immigration system, but you can’t compare it to the UK’s. A substantial more people want to come to the USA than the UK, so there isn’t a fair comparison – we HAVE to have quotas (though I think they should be abolished, we have plenty of room). And I’m sorry it’s not easier for Brits to come here to live and work. But the difference between you and me is that I don’t care who comes to live and work in the USA as long as they WORK.
Britain will never leave the EU, it would be economic suicide. I do understand all your other points about elderly folks, their pensions and the NHS. But that has nothing to do with the legal immigration of highly skilled workers to the UK.
errr, I live in London and we are packed to capacity. If immigration as it stands today – there will be 70M on this island. Is this island even the size of Nebraska?
It’s too much and sorry if you don’t like it, but those of us here need the insanity to stop.
The job situation IS dire. The people with jobs work for the Government. It’s unsustainable.
We are not a big land mass like the USA. We can’t “suck it up” anymore.
As for “illegals swimming on our shores” – they come in via the euro tunnel and as bogus ayslum seekers who never leave – even when ordered by our courts.
We get all the immigrants from the EU. We may never “leave” the EU – but we can damn sure cap our immigration like France etc.
Sorry, dude – Jim and I are not the minority.
The comments are not directed at those who come to Britain with recognised skills and jobs waiting for them, or tourists, surely that’s obvious from the points I made. Those people do not come to Britain to settle in any case, theirs is usually a stay of about five years on average, during which time they pay whatever taxes are required and are not an expense on the public purse. If they did not have the skills wanted then they wouldn’t be here. The foreign spouses of British citizens, or the children of them born elsewhere represent a tiny group of people, barely worth recording.
I am heartened by you description of job sites creaking at the seams with jobs just waiting to be filled. Perhaps you could supply some links. Then some the jobless school leavers I work with in the unemployed centre I help in – where we spend all day scrolling through such sites with no discernible success – might find something suitable. Where I live there are not even illegal jobs.
We are not a giant island by the way. We occupy roughly the same area as many American states I understand, but with a population now one fifth of that of America. Illegal entrants wading up beaches are not a problem. Those who do enter the country illegally do so hidden in vehicles coming from the continent. Despite checks, some get through but this has thankfully dwindled to a tiny fraction of what it was before search systems were established in France. Foreigners arriving at airports go through the customary checks and if not in possession of a valid reason to be here are turned back. Travellers from EU countries are not subjected to any such check and the last few years saw a massive influx from Eastern Europe, few of whom offered anything in the way of a recognisable skill but who had to be housed, fed, educated and have their medical needs attended to from a system that can barely cope with those already here. Why then is it fine for America to operate a quota system but not Britain? The difference between you and me is that I do care who comes to Britain because here they don’t have to work but will still be supported whereas they won’t in America, where they will be required to work.
The effect the large numbers who are here illegally have on those who are not is that they have to have access to hospitals, education, social services – all of which had to be paid for by somebody. That’s how it works. Those people who paid into the system without demur all their lives are quite right to be indignant when told that they are not going to receive what they paid for – because the system has been extended to those who haven’t and never will. And how do you think they might feel at the sight of ridiculous payments made to people to bribe them to return home? The fact that the government are doing so is a tacit admission that they got it badly wrong. To simply admit more each year – as the Labour party has done – was economic madness.
I wouldnt be too sure about Britain and the EU. Ask around. The cracks are already well in place anyway, with several member countries voicing alarm at being yoked to states which are financial basket cases and likely to remain so. Much of Britain’s discontent stems from the adoption of single parliament which issues unchallengable decrees. Hardly politics. And in the light of recent events in the world of economy, what would constitute financial suicide?
I understand some of the points You made, however, i would like to ask you few questions, such as what do You think of people who come to UK because the situation in their country is horrific? What do You think of people who are in Englans legally, pay taxes, work or study here? What do You think of those who live in England for years and think of it as it would be their home now? Do You want to get rid of them too?
well i’m looking for a good job but unable to find anywhere and didnt get good info regarding my jobs. but at last i got good info…now im hapy my jobs procedure is under process