By: Toby Gould, Student Voices editor
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Source: Sky |
Immigration has dominated arguments over the EU and is constantly being pushed by the Leave campaign. Despite the IN campaign focusing primarily on economic arguments, David Cameron, de-facto leader, has attempted to address ‘Out’ concerns over immigration. He has done this by lying to the British public on a number of things. To be clear, free movement which comes with our EU membership means that there is nothing that can be done to prevent legal migration to the UK from the EU – just as Britons are able to travel and live in EU countries under the same regulations. However, immigration from outside the EU is under the control of the British government (in theory) and yet the number of migrants coming to Britain from these countries is almost twice the target Cameron set himself for total net migration. Instead of insisting that ‘we can control immigration inside the EU’ (BBC), the Prime Minister needs to stop lying to us and be clear on what the government can and will actually do to reduce immigration (as the Conservatives were elected on a platform promising to reduce net migration to the ‘tens of thousands’).
It is the aim of the government to reduce net migration – a response
to the concerns held by the British public who, according to recent polls, see immigration
as their ‘biggest worry’ – ahead of the NHS (Telegraph/
Ipsos Mori). In fact, during the Sky
Q&A, on the 2nd June, he stated that immigration could be cut to
below 100,000 (as previously promised) with the UK in the EU. But the ways he has set out that this can be
achieved are very vague and not proven to drastically reduce immigration whatsoever. For example, removing unemployment benefit
and reducing ‘full’ access to the welfare system for those who have worked
under four years are not exactly striking measures which put off the majority
of immigrants who come to the UK to work (realistically, these are the people
that we would have to simply turn away if we were to reduce immigration to the ‘tens
of thousands’; of course this is not possible in the EU).
Cameron’s biggest argument that net migration can be reduced
in the EU is that it has previously been ‘neutral’ due to the emigration of
people in the UK. This is, in theory, true. Just unlikely to happen anytime
soon. As the government keeps reminding us, the UK is the fastest growing ‘major
economy’. Our unemployment rate is also
4% less that the EU average (8.9% to 5%; Source). If wealth and jobs are being created at a
faster rate in the UK than the majority of the EU, then why on earth would
emigration to EU countries from the UK increase? Especially if we consider the
impact the slow recovery of countries such as Spain and Portugal and the
complete collapse and non-recovery of Greece is having on expat Brits living
abroad on the continent (many have returned to the UK; Telegraph).
It’s clear that Cameron has no coherent strategy which would
enable him to fulfil his promise of reducing immigration from the EU. He is
lying to the general public by saying it is possible when it so blatantly is
not.
However, our Prime Minister has more questions to answer. As well as being unsuccessful in reducing
immigration from the EU (an impossible task when free movement is in place), he
has also been unsuccessful in reducing immigration from outside the EU (which
is entirely under the control of the British government). Net migration from
non-EU countries was 188,000 according to most recent figures. Reducing this
with quotas and changes to the system is entirely possible. So why has the government, elected on the
promise of reducing immigration, not done anything to reduce it where they can?
Not only is Cameron lying about the ability of the UK to reduce immigration
while we’re in the EU but he has lied about reducing immigration altogether.
Either the government couldn’t be bothered or doesn’t see it as a priority –
strange considering, as I mentioned earlier, immigration is the number one
concern of the British public.
We know that it is not possible to reduce immigration from
the EU while we remain part of the free market which comes with free
movement. Cameron has lied about this.
We also know that immigration has not been cut from non-EU countries, despite
pre-election Conservative promises. Again, Cameron has lied about this. It’s time we started demanding some answers;
is it still the aim of the government to reduce immigration to the ‘tens of
thousands’? How does the government plan to do this if we remain within the EU?
And how will the government reduce immigration from non-EU countries, which
still remains way above pre-election targets?
Cameron: Stop Lying to us About Immigration
Reviewed by Student Voices
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