Little Britain

By Sun Wei in London Source:Global Times Published: 2014-4-3 9:01:50



 The UK's new Immigration Minister James Brokenshire defended on March 18 his debut speech, which drew wide criticism from all sides.  He argued he was not "passing judgment on anyone" when he said that a "wealthy metropolitan elite" had benefited from "uncontrolled" mass immigration.

On March 6, 2014, Brokenshire used his first major speech to accuse the wealthy middle classes of enjoying "cheap tradesmen and services," while the working class were squeezed out of jobs by migrants. Brokenshire claimed the emphasis is on "attracting the brightest and said the best," and the number of new arrivals from the EU was "just too high."

However, his speech has embarrassed Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Brokenshire's boss at the Home Office Theresa Mayall, all of whom have been criticized for employing foreign staff at home.

Brokenshire became the immigration minister in February after his predecessor Mark Harper realized he had employed an illegal immigrant as a cleaner for seven years and resigned.

The beginning of 2014 witnessed a significant public interest in immigration as Romanians and Bulgarians can now work freely across the EU after seven years of immigration restrictions.  Many fear a large number of migrants will flood in.

There were also complaints that Cameron had failed to honor his promise to get the net migration below 100,000 by 2015. The Office for National Statistics estimated that there was a net flow of 212,000 migrants to the UK in the 12 months to September 2013, compared to 154,000 in the same period in the previous year.

Great British hysteria

Immigration tops the agenda in today's Britain. A recent YouGov survey revealed that seven out of 10 voters want immigration reduced or stopped completely. Many of them say immigration will be second only to the economy in the 2015 general election, and will be important in deciding how they vote.

The Evening Standard forum on immigration at the Guildhall in London earlier this month attracted around 800 people. A panel including UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, ex-Labour cabinet minister Tessa Jowell and Tottenham MP David Lammy had a fierce debate.

Farage called for tighter "quantity and quality controls," claiming uncontrolled mass immigration hurt the people at the bottom of society most. However, David Lammy, who hopes to be the first black mayor of London in 2016, suggested not blaming immigrants for the jobs and housing crisis but talking about problems and find solutions.

Right-wing think tank MigrationWatch UK, which campaigns against mass immigration, claimed in a study described by critics as "based on a substantial amount of guesswork [and] at times sloppy or simply wrong" that immigrants have cost the taxpayer more than £22 million ($36.6 million) a year since the mid-1990s, totting up a bill of more than £140 billion. 

MigrationWatch's claims were an obvious counterweight to a study published by University College London (UCL) last year, which showed immigrants made a substantial contribution to public finances. The UCL study demonstrated that immigrants from the European Economic Area had made a particularly positive contribution in the decade up to 2011, contributing 34 percent more in taxes than they received in benefits.

Under public pressure, the government is set to further tighten benefits for European workers since March. It is the latest in a series of measures aimed at cracking down on immigration. The British government introduced a tough Immigration Bill in October to crack down on migrants' rights to NHS and council homes.

Tim Finch, associate director for migration at the Institute for Public Policy Research, criticized the government for pursuing a "one club" policy to reduce the overall numbers at all costs.

But Science Minister David Willetts has pointed out that Britain's immigration policy is bad PR for the country abroad and is putting off international students. According to the Office for National Statistics, there has been a 36 percent decline in the number of Tier 4 student visas issued in the UK annually since 2010.

Annie Min, Talent Acquisition Manager with Global Career Company Ltd, told the Global Times that the Careers in Asia Recruitment Summit in London saw an unprecedentedly low number of applications this year partly due to the closure of the Post-Study Work (PSW) visa scheme, which allowed non-EU graduates of UK universities to remain in the country for two years to gather valuable work experience.

Millionaire track

But the UK is rolling out the red carpet for the world's super-rich.

An immigration official is proposing a plan to auction off around 100 visas to the overseas rich every year, with minimum bids starting at £2.5 million.

The program would be an unprecedented first. The Migration Advisory Committee report said that any surplus from the bidding could go to good causes like assisting inner-city schools or health care research.

Critics say such a plan would create "eBay immigration" for the rich. It will send a message that the UK simply sells entry to the highest bidder without considering their longer-term value to the country.

At present, non-EU nationals who invest £1 million, £5 million or £10 million can apply for permanent residency in the UK after five, three or two years.

The number of investor visas has jumped quickly in the last five years. Russian and Chinese nationals made up almost half of the 1,647 investor visas issued since 2008.

As PSW and Tier 1 Entrepreneurship visas are either closed or becoming more restricted, the investor visa has become a favorite option for  young graduates from super rich families.

"I was lucky to get permanent residency before the policy changes," Maggie Qiu, who stayed in the UK via the highly skilled migrant route in 2005, told the Global Times.

"Now it's far more difficult to remain after graduation and only the super rich are welcome."



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