Some countries, notably China, have addressed this with draconian policies to limit population growth and inward migration. Others have had much more liberal immigration policies as they sought to develop their economies.
Our country has been one of the most liberal, particularly since 1997.
Gordon Brown has repeatedly claimed credit for 'creating 3 million new jobs' in Britain since 1997. But the Statistics Commission has disclosed that 68% of these were filled by immigrants, and when jobs for pensioners are taken out, immigrants have taken 82% of the increase in new jobs. The Spectator claimed last week that there were only 300,000 more UK-born working-aged people in employment in June 2007 than in June 1997.
Last week a cross-party group of MPs, led by Frank Field MP and Nicholas Soames MP, endorsed a report which claimed a lack of economic benefit from immigration but a lasting social legacy stemming from cheap foreign labour. They highlighted the lack of succes of this government in training those on welfare to undertake these new jobs.
A much clearer migration policy is needed to ensure that the open door policy of the past 11 years is much more restrictive and clearly targetted. We need to maintain a tolerant society to offer sanctuary to those genuinely being persecuted, and our economy also needs some migrant workers to fill skills gaps. But our priority should be to get those already here trained and motivated to do these jobs.
An annual limit should be placed on all non-EU citizens seeking to come to live and work here. The Government are now talking about adopting such a policy, proposed by Conservatives over recent years.
It is important for any Government to face up to the challenges posed by the potential for massive population shifts over the years to come. Not all will be inward to this country: increasing numbers of young British families have chosen to make their lives abroad. But without a thorough understanding of the implications of these shifts, we risk storing up even greater problems.
