We all know that the real reason many people wanted to leave the EU was because of migration. It was wrapped up in meaningless slogans like ‘taking back control of our borders’ but if we are all being honest with each other, it was largely about stopping foreign people coming to work in the UK. The end of free movement across Europe will put an end to migration, won’t it? Er, not exactly.
It’s true that migration from EU countries will decline massively from the last recorded level in the year ending 2018 when 74,000 people came to work here. EU workers provide a significant net positive to the exchequer in terms of the taxes they pay and the services they provide. Government figures confirm this. Doubtless, Brexiters will be thrilled to read this. However, non EU migration, at 248,000 for the same period, is considerably greater than that from Europe.
I assume Brexit voters either don’t know this, or are quite happy with far higher levels of migration from other parts of the world, including the Commonwealth. Poland provided some 10% of all migrants. That number is now in rapid decline so the largest areas from which migrants are now coming are India and Pakistan at a combined 15%.
My issue with migration is always about integration. I do not support multiculturalism because it actively encourages separatism and division, although I do support diversity and multi-ethnicity in the sense that people should be free to live their own unique lives within the context of our way of life. That is to say a secular way of life where no one has special privileges for their religion, for example. Most EU migrants have done just this.
Britain was always able to apply the brake on EU migration but even under David Cameron and Theresa May it chose not to do so. Other EU countries have applied restrictions whereas we never bothered. Presumably, the government and the people are relaxed about migration from outside the EU?
Migration won’t end the moment we leave Europe. I will miss the European doctors, nurses, scientists and fruit pickers. I suppose we can always make up the shortfall of labour from the Commonwealth, but why?
