16th January, 2009

Migration Watch UK made a recent post on their news blog stating that UK immigration is out of control and that the new Points-Based System (PBS) will not keep the UK’s population below 70m as promised by the UK Government.

In recent years there has been mounting concern over the rapid growth of the UK population with fears that it will hit the 70m mark by 2028 putting a major strain on the already stretched public services. Immigration is credited with the blame for this rapid growth and many believe a cap on immigration or stricter rules are necessary to stop the population in the UK getting out of control. What is often forgotten is that the PBS manages the economic migration of skilled people that the UK desperately needs such as the health and education systems.

The NHS is already struggling to cope with the demands of the population. What would happen if we were to suddenly stop non-EU doctors working in the NHS? How would social services cope without all the non-EU nationals they employ as social workers? It is easy to say the population needs to remain under 70m but could our public services really cope without much needed skilled people from outside the UK?

Immigration Watch International announced last week that ministers have dramatically under-counted the number of foreign workers in Britain after it emerged that statistics do not include those foreign workers that come to the UK for temporary seasonal work such as fruit picking and labouring.

However, these short-term seasonal temp workers come to the UK from within the EU and return home after their stay. There is no option to these visa holders to settle and remain in the UK. With this being the case, is it really necessary to include these workers in the statistics? Furthermore, can we honestly say that British citizens would be prepared to do these jobs? If this were the case, employers would not have to recruit their workers from the EU in the first place.