Next time someone tries to tell you immigration is bad for the UK just run these facts by them. Researchers from UCL’s Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM) – probably the leading experts in this field – have tried to tot up how much migrants paid in and took out of the UK since 2011. From 2001, the contribution made by migrants rises considerably: The central estimates used in the paper suggest European immigrants make a net contribution of around £20bn. For immigrants from outside Europe there is a small net contribution of around £5bn and for natives the net cost was more than £616bn. The big take-home messages are that: a) the big wave of immigration from central and Eastern Europe after 2004 was good for the UK economy and b) native-born Britons are a bigger drain on the state than immigrants. One important point: the researchers say that all their figures are likely to under-estimate the long-term economic contribution made by immigrants, because it’s impossible to track what happens to their children. British-born descendants of immigrants tend to do better at school and may well go on to make a higher net contribution to the economy than natives.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 10:55:49 +0000
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