Are immigration numbers set to fall in the UK?
While only a few days ago the UK government was still adamant there had been no mistakes with regards to its immigration program, Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, has over the last 24 hours admitted that the government has not handled the immigration issue as well as it could have. He was openly critical of his predecessors amid suggestions that the Labour Party undertook a massive immigration program purely and simply to introduce a multicultural society to the UK.
Interestingly, as we approach the general election, the UK government has reiterated the fact that limits on UK bound Bulgarian and Romanian workers will remain intact until 2011 despite the fact the government sees no harm in immigrants entering the UK employment market. This comes just days after news that £24 million in child benefit is being paid to families overseas from the likes of Poland, Slovenia and other new entrants to the European Union - many of whom have never set foot in the UK.
Unfortunately, there is very little of the UK government can do because of the freedom of movement within Europe and the ability of members of the European population to apply for work and benefits in any European member state. Immigration is an issue which will not go away and one which could make or break the next UK election.
Share this..
Related stories
Christmas comes early for buy to let landlords
A court ruling today has breathed new life into the buy to let sector and opened up the potential for compensation claims which could top £20 million. The case against Foxtons, the well-known London letting agency, resulted in Mr Justice Mann ruling that the company overcharged commission to landlords. Indeed the judge went on to describe Foxtons agreements as "traps and timebombs" which could pr...
Read MoreWho will bail out failed pension schemes in the future?
Yesterday's news that the pension protection fund is now running an annual deficit of £1.23 billion is causing significant concern to UK consumers and UK businesses. This was the pension life boat put in place by the UK government to assist pension scheme members of failed pension schemes. However, nobody forecast the massive increase in pension scheme failures and the ever-growing financial liab...
Read MoreSeptember MPC votes for unchanged interest rates
Over the last few months we have seen a three way split in the Bank of England MPC - which sets the base rate for the UK - although the minutes for September's meeting now show a change in attitude. The vote was 8 - 1 in favour of retaining the current level of interest rates with the one committee member who had been looking for a rise now back in the no-change camp. So what next for UK base ra...
Read MoreWho will be next to undermine Gordon Brown?
Only a few days ago we saw senior members of the Labour Party step forward in a direct attack on Gordon Brown's leadership with a request for a secret ballot. Yesterday, we saw Mervyn King step forward to place Gordon Brown's hopes for the introduction of "Tobin tax" at the bottom of the list of options for the UK financial sector. So who will be next to undermine Gordon Brown? There is no doub...
Read MoreCharity begins at home
The announcement that donations to Oxfam have suffered a fall of around 12% this year is bad news for the charity sector but in many ways inevitable. As the UK recession continues to bite, more and more of the UK population are taking on the philosophy that "Charity begins at home". However, a significant reduction in charitable donations will have a knock-on effect to many local communities as th...
Read More