And only two in five of these respondents plumped for an end to EU free movement or exit.
The papers, the experts and the competition all vividly illustrate the mire in which Cameron is wading.
There are few clear answers to that question, despite all the firm rhetoric flying around. What we need is more nuance and better information.
Besides, one quarter’s figures do not alter the bigger picture. It may not be long before net migration from the EU exceeds that from the rest of the world.
Sir Andrew Green knows much about immigration policy, but in my experience the current system is broken.
Which is to place new restrictions on out of work benefits. Other than that, the law allows him little room for manoeuvre
Sir Andrew Green is Chairman of Migrationwatch UK The Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi has achieved some headlines today with his call for an amnesty for illegal immigrants. This he describes as a “siesmic shift” in immigration policy, designed to attract ethnic votes. Two minutes thought should dispose of this idea. An amnesty would make a bad […]
Sir Andrew Green is Chairman of Migrationwatch UK Readers of Conservative Home should be greatly encouraged by this week’s news that net migration is down by over a third. It now stands at 153,000 for the year ending September 2012. This gives the Government a fighting chance of getting close to their target of tens […]
Sir Andrew Green is Chairman of Migrationwatch UK. Does the government’s political imperative to get immigration down to acceptable levels conflict with their economic imperative to stimulate economic growth? For business generally, the answer is a resounding “no”. There are no limits on the transfer of international staff, vital to so many companies based here. […]
Sir Andrew Green is Chairman of Migrationwatch UK I would expect Conservatives to be very concerned about today’s immigration figures while the immigration industry rejoices. Net migration fell last year from 252,000 to 216,000 but the drop is not statistically significant. There is thus very little progress to show nearly half way through the government’s […]
Sir Andew Green is Chairman of MigrationWatch UK. Thursday’s immigration figures were disappointing for the government but by no means disastrous. They covered the year to mid-2011, which almost coincides with the first year of the Coalition government. The figures showed that net migration is still running at about 250,000 a year. This, of course, […]
Sir Andrew Green is Chairman of MigrationWatch. The immigration industry is in a corner. The government are proceeding with wide-ranging reform of the immigration system supported by very strong public opinion. Special interest groups are fighting rear guard actions, often based on misrepresentation of government policy. Otherwise, there is nobody arguing against the need to […]
Sir Andrew Green is Chairman of MigrationWatch. David Cameron has repeatedly committed his government to reducing net immigration from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands. This week the cabinet will decide how to go about it. These are long term decisions that are vital to the future of our country. This is not about […]
Sir Andrew Green is Chairman of MigrationWatch. In many parts of England children are now being turned away from the school of their parents choice as primary schools come under growing pressure of numbers. For both the children and their parents this can be hugely disruptive. A report for London Councils predicts that the capital […]
Evidence suggests that many who come to study here don’t return home, which makes calls to remove them from net migration statistics disingenuous.