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Press Releases for December 2008
December 16, 2008
How Britain's new jobs have gone to immigrants
December 10, 2008
Public gives thumbs down to amnesty for illegal immigrants New study shows amnesty would cost up to £4 billion a year
Full Text of Releases : December 2008
December 16, 2008
How Britain's new jobs have gone to immigrants
Nearly all the jobs created in the UK since 2001 have gone to immigrants - not British born workers.
New research from think tank Migrationwatch – based on Government figures – shows that virtually all the extra 1.34 million jobs have now been filled by people from abroad, notably by the half a million workers who have come to the UK from Eastern Europe.
Over the same period there has been no progress at all in getting British born unemployed workers into work; the number in employment did increase between 2001 and 2005 but there has since been a fall of nearly a quarter of a million. Meanwhile the number of East European (A8) employees rose by nearly half a million after they were given free access to our labour market in 2004.
The study also shows that the number of East Europeans is starting to stabilise. Some are now leaving the UK but they are also continuing to arrive – although at a lower rate of about 13,000 a month. The Labour Force Survey shows that the number working in the UK has been stable at about 500,000 in the first three quarters of 2008.
‘From an immigration point of view this means that migration from Eastern Europe is moving into balance as we have been predicting but, from the point of view of British born workers, the damage to their prospects has already been done - at a time when jobs of almost all kinds are at a premium,’ said Sir Andrew Green, Migrationwatch chairman.
‘This must have been staring the government in the face for a long time yet even last month they described the East European migrants as “helping to fill gaps in the labour market”. Rather than come clean about the effect of massive immigration on the prospects of British born workers they have been spinning the statistics and camouflaging the true position with “tough talk” about immigration.
‘Now that the cat is out of the bag they cannot possibly lift such restrictions as now exist on Romanian and Bulgarian workers.’
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December 10, 2008
Public gives thumbs down to amnesty for illegal immigrants New study shows amnesty would cost up to £4 billion a year
Seven out of ten adults disagree that there should be an amnesty for illegal immigrants, a new YouGov poll has found. The research, commissioned by Migrationwatch UK, found that only one in ten people agree with the idea. In London, the poll found that 64 per cent opposed an amnesty. Just one in six Londoners supported the idea of an amnesty, which was recently proposed by Mayor Boris Johnson; only one in twenty strongly agreed.
The poll was published along with new research, which shows that an amnesty for illegal immigrants, or “undocumented workers” would cost £2 billion in its first full year of operation. As those concerned married and had families, the costs could rise to £4 billion a year.
Those granted an amnesty would be immediately entitled to apply for social housing, adding at least half a million to the waiting list (which is already over 1.5 million for England alone). They would also be entitled to bring over their families, thus moving up the queue which is largely based on “need”. Meanwhile they would be entitled to Housing Benefit which is included in this calculation.
Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch UK, said:
“Clearly the British public can see that to reward people with a meal ticket for life for breaking our laws is an absurd proposition. It will only encourage others to come and take their place in the hope of a further amnesty. That is exactly what has happened in Italy which has granted five amnesties in the past twenty years and Spain which has granted six.
“Claims of “a huge increase in tax revenues” are ludicrous when benefit payments are taken into account. So proponents of an amnesty are left only with their claim to be advancing the cause of social justice. However, the real victims are British workers whose wages are held down or perhaps their job opportunities taken by people who came or remained here illegally of their own volition.
“As we enter a recession, competition for work by illegal immigrants should be reduced, not encouraged. The government and Opposition are absolutely right to oppose this ill-considered scheme. The only amnesty worth considering is an amnesty on departure – allowing people already here illegally to leave within a defined window without fear of arrest for immigration offences.”
Notes to Editors
1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2062 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 26th - 28th November 2008. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
2. The full poll results are set out in the attached Excel spreadsheet.
3. A paper entitled “The financial case against an amnesty for illegal immigrants” is also attached. It is self explanatory.
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