Britain has always been a country of immigrants. People have come to Britain from all over the world in search of a better life, and this has had a profound effect on British culture and society. In recent years, however, there has been a significant increase in the number of people coming to Britain from other European countries. This has led to some tension among the British public, with some people arguing that immigration is putting too much strain on the country’s resources. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the economic impact of migration on Britain and see if the numbers add up.
There are two main ways in which migration can impact the economy: through its effect on the labour market and through its effect on public finances. Let’s start with the labour market. It is often argued that immigrants are taking jobs away from British workers because they are willing to work for lower wages. There is some evidence to support this claim. A study by University College London found that between 1995 and 2005, immigrants accounted for around 25% of the growth in employment in Britain but only around 5% of native employment growth. However, it is worth noting that this study only looked at employment growth over a 10-year period and it is possible that native workers have since regained lost ground.
It is also worth noting that not all immigrants are low-skilled workers who are willing to accept low wages. In fact, many immigrants come to Britain with skills that are in short supply among British workers. For example, according to data from NHS Digital, around 6% of doctors working in the NHS were born outside of the UK. These skilled workers make a valuable contribution to the economy and help to offset any negative impact that low-skilled immigration might have on native workers.
Now let’s turn to public finances. It is often claimed that migrants put an unfair strain on public services such as healthcare and education because they make use of these services but do not pay enough taxes to cover their costs. However, this argument does not stand up to scrutiny when you consider the facts. According to research by University College London, migrants who arrived in Britain between 2000 and 2011 made net contributions of £20 billion to public finances over that period. This means that they paid more in taxes than they received in benefits and used fewer public services than they contributed through their taxes. So overall, migrants made a positive contribution to public finances over that period.
Migration can have both positive and negative effects on an economy but overall it seems clear that migrants make more positive than negative contributions to Britain’s economy both in terms of their effect on the labour market and their effect on public finances. Therefore, it is important not to allow fears about immigration to cloud our judgement when it comes to making decisions about who we allow into our country.
