An Ipsos Mori poll suggests immigration is now ranked alongside the economy as the most important issue for British people. That’s a doubling of importance in a single year.
The same poll confirmed Britons vastly overestimate the scale of immigration – believing 31 per cent of the population are born abroad when the official estimate is 13 per cent. It would seem we are gripped by an irrational fear of foreigners and outsiders – even though our low wage, de-skilled economy depends on their labour.
70 per cent of respondents said immigration is a big problem facing the country, but only 20 per cent had encountered immigration-related problems themselves. Sixty per cent thought immigration was bad for the labour market in general but only 31 per cent thought they personally would be better off if it was capped.
When pollsters asked for the most important single issue facing Britain today, only 12 per cent of respondents in Scotland put race relations/immigration in the top spot, compared with 22 per cent in England. But concerns about immigration were also surprisingly low in multicultural London (13 per cent) compared with the South East’s 26 per cent.
The result comes after months of hysterical press reporting of migration from Romania and Bulgaria and equally hysterical government and BBC reaction to the rising influence of Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Ukip. When the immigration debate is conducted at foghorn volume and at great distance, alarm bells do ring. But when immigration gets up close and personal, the whole British public is a good deal more tolerant, realistic and relaxed.
The Conservatives promised to reduce net migration before the next election to swing key votes in 2015. But since Theresa May has little control over the bulk of immigration (because it’s from Europe), she’s turned her sights on the 20,000 British citizens who happen to have non-European family/spouses. Tens of thousands of bona fide British citizens have been virtually exiled abroad because they don’t earn enough and their spouses were born outside the EU. In July 2012 the coalition government introduced a minimum earnings threshold of £18,600 for any UK citizen trying to return with a foreign spouse. The UK national must be earning this for six months in the UK before his or her partner can join him. No account is taken of foreign partners actual or potential earnings or any financial support from other family members in the UK. Savings don’t count and neither does property. If a returning couple has dependent kids, the threshold would rise by £1,000-£2,000 apiece.
Of course, she insists the government are simply ensuring that these immigrants will not be a burden on the taxpayer. But non-European family members of British citizens have “no recourse to public funds” stamped on their passports. So the real motivation seems to be winning anti-immigration votes in England. Even if that means breaching the right to family life for thousands of British citizens. Beyond the rhetoric, this is what a crackdown on non EU immigration looks like. Shamelessly unfair, emotionally cruel and economically pointless.
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The same poll confirmed Britons vastly overestimate the scale of immigration – believing 31 per cent of the population are born abroad when the official estimate is 13 per cent. It would seem we are gripped by an irrational fear of foreigners and outsiders – even though our low wage, de-skilled economy depends on their labour.
70 per cent of respondents said immigration is a big problem facing the country, but only 20 per cent had encountered immigration-related problems themselves. Sixty per cent thought immigration was bad for the labour market in general but only 31 per cent thought they personally would be better off if it was capped.
When pollsters asked for the most important single issue facing Britain today, only 12 per cent of respondents in Scotland put race relations/immigration in the top spot, compared with 22 per cent in England. But concerns about immigration were also surprisingly low in multicultural London (13 per cent) compared with the South East’s 26 per cent.
The result comes after months of hysterical press reporting of migration from Romania and Bulgaria and equally hysterical government and BBC reaction to the rising influence of Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Ukip. When the immigration debate is conducted at foghorn volume and at great distance, alarm bells do ring. But when immigration gets up close and personal, the whole British public is a good deal more tolerant, realistic and relaxed.
The Conservatives promised to reduce net migration before the next election to swing key votes in 2015. But since Theresa May has little control over the bulk of immigration (because it’s from Europe), she’s turned her sights on the 20,000 British citizens who happen to have non-European family/spouses. Tens of thousands of bona fide British citizens have been virtually exiled abroad because they don’t earn enough and their spouses were born outside the EU. In July 2012 the coalition government introduced a minimum earnings threshold of £18,600 for any UK citizen trying to return with a foreign spouse. The UK national must be earning this for six months in the UK before his or her partner can join him. No account is taken of foreign partners actual or potential earnings or any financial support from other family members in the UK. Savings don’t count and neither does property. If a returning couple has dependent kids, the threshold would rise by £1,000-£2,000 apiece.
Of course, she insists the government are simply ensuring that these immigrants will not be a burden on the taxpayer. But non-European family members of British citizens have “no recourse to public funds” stamped on their passports. So the real motivation seems to be winning anti-immigration votes in England. Even if that means breaching the right to family life for thousands of British citizens. Beyond the rhetoric, this is what a crackdown on non EU immigration looks like. Shamelessly unfair, emotionally cruel and economically pointless.
From here
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