Westminster Diary

James Plaskitt MP

10 April 2008

A HOUSE of Lords committee has produced an interesting and comprehensive report on immigration. The right wing tabloids had a proper field day with it. There were all the headlines screaming about the great big immigration lies being exposed and the government’s immigration con revealed and so on. All very predictable, and as usual these days, all so very wrong.
I’ve read the full report. It is in fact a pretty balanced piece of work. Sure, it has some criticisms of aspects of government policy. I would expect a Lords committee to do that. But in the world according to the tabloids you would think the government’s immigration policy was now lying in tatters on the floor. Well, let’s see what the truth is. The papers spun the report to say there was no economic benefit from immigration. It doesn’t say that. The report was spun as saying that immigration had not improved income per head in the UK. It doesn’t say that. The report was spun as suggesting there were no beneficial effects for inflation or consumers arising from immigration. It doesn’t say that either.
The detailed analysis in the report also explodes a few other popular myths about immigration. It shows that our level in the UK is not out of line with other comparable countries. Our immigrant population is under ten per cent. Some people have said to me we should have the same policy as Australia – but their immigrant population is 24 per cent. The report also shows how the reasons for coming to the UK have changed over time. In the early 1990s the majority of immigrants were coming here to join family members or for other non-specified reasons; only 29 per cent were coming for work. Now only 17 per cent are coming to join family and 40 per cent are here for work and a further 27 per cent for study. We also learn that foreign workers are on average better skilled and higher paid than our domestic workforce.
The report also welcomes the changes we have recently announced to our immigration policy, including the new points system and the requirement to learn English. I’m all for a continuing debate on immigration. The Lords have added value to the debate. It’s a pity that others are so blinded by their prejudice that they can’t see the value of joining a grown up discussion.

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