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Press Releases for July 2009
July 23, 2009
New immigration polls find nearly 80% of the British public, even in his own constituency, think the Home Secretary is ‘out of touch’
70% of Labour voters in Britain want a sharp cut in immigration
78% of voters in Alan Johnson’s own co
July 13, 2009
Both Conservatives and Labour “conning” the public on immigration
New research shows neither party will stop UK’s population hitting 70 million
July 2, 2009
Surge in Remittances Points to Sharp Rise in Illegal Immigrants from Pakistan
Full Text of Releases : July 2009
New immigration polls find nearly 80% of the British public, even in his own constituency, think the Home Secretary is ‘out of touch’
70% of Labour voters in Britain want a sharp cut in immigration
78% of voters in Alan Johnson’s own co
New opinion polls, published today, show the Home Secretary is clearly out of touch with the public. Last week Alan Johnson told a House of Commons Committee that ‘he does not lie awake at night’ worrying that the population of the UK will reach 70 million and that he would not put a cap on the number of immigrants settling in the UK.
A YouGov opinion poll, conducted shortly afterwards for think tank Migrationwatch, shows that his views are completely at odds with the vast majority of the population:
- 81% are worried (45% of which are ‘very worried’) about the prospect of a population of 70 million in 2028. - 78% say that Alan Johnson is out of touch with people like them.
- 76% want to see net immigration cut from its present level of 237,000 a year to 50,000 or less a year. Of that 76%, 32% want to see a policy of “one in, one out” while 22% want to see no immigration at all.
The party affiliations are also of interest:
- 90% of Conservative voters are worried (55% very worried) about a population of 70 million. For Labour voters it was 70% worried (29% very worried). Lib Dems were higher at 76% (38% very worried).
- 65% of Labour voters think he is out of touch with them, as do 71% of Lib Dems and 90% of Conservatives.
- A sharp cut in immigration (to 50,000 a year or less) was supported by 85% of Conservative, 70% of Labour[1] and 65% of Lib Dem voters.
The ORB poll of voters in Alan Johnson’s own constituency found that:
- 80% of voters thought that Alan Johnson was “out of touch” on immigration
- 85% were concerned that 7 million of the 10 million increase will be as a result of immigration
- 83% want to see net immigration reduced to 50,000 a year or less
- 80% of voters thought that immigration is putting too much strain on public services.
- 78% of voters opposed his general attitude to immigration and population
- 73% are concerned that Britain is losing its own identity and culture
- 69% of voters were concerned that, over the next 20 years or so, the population of the UK will rise by more than 10 million, from 61 million today to over 70 million.
Mr Johnson’s approach to immigration, and his policy, has little support among Labour voters in his constituency. Of his constituents who said that they would vote Labour at the next election:
- 63% were concerned that 7 million of the 10 million increase will be as a result of immigration
- 56% of potential Labour voters thought that Alan Johnson was “out of touch” on immigration
- 58% of potential Labour voters opposed his general attitude to immigration and population.
Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch said: ‘The new Home Secretary and the Prime Minister are hopelessly out of touch with the mood of the nation on this issue.
‘This is not just about a “cap” on immigration. It is about the future of our country.
‘Failure to cut immigration back to the level of the early nineties will result in our population going to 70 then 80 million and beyond as immigration is the main driver of population growth.
‘In many parts of Britain the public are seething with resentment at the total failure of the political class to take seriously their deep concerns about the impact of immigration on the future of our country,’ he said.
NOTE
All figures for the national poll, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,956 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 16th - 17th July 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
All figures for the poll conducted in Alan Johnson’s constituency are from ORB. The results are from a telephone survey of 1,026 constituents living in West Hull & Hessle. Fieldwork was conducted 17th to 21st July (inc). Interviews were conducted with adults aged 18+ who confirmed that they lived in one of Hull West & Hessle’s seven wards. Data are weighted to the adult profile of Hull West & Hessle by age, gender, working status and ward.
Notes:
[1] Of those intending to vote Labour, 70% wanted to see net immigration reduced below 50,000 a year, made up of 27% who wanted to see less than 50,000 a year, 29% who wished to seee ‘one in, one out’ and 14% who wanted no immigration at all. Only 7% wanted 200,000 and another 7% 300,000 or more.
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Both Conservatives and Labour “conning” the public on immigration New research shows neither party will stop UK’s population hitting 70 million
As the latest immigration Bill comes to the House of Commons on Tuesday for its final approval, new research published today shows that the immigration policies of neither the Conservative Party nor the Labour Party will stop the UK’s population hitting 70 million - up from 61 million today.
The official forecast is that, in the absence of major policy changes, we will reach this point in 20 years time with nearly all the increase in England.
To avoid the UK population hitting 70 million – nine million more than today – net migration needs to be reduced from 237,000 (the 2007 figure) to 50,000, and held there. This is a 75% reduction.
To stabilise our population at 65 million we need a 100% reduction so that immigration is equal to emigration.
Under Labour’s policies, immigration would fall by 8% - a fall of just 20,000 to 217,000. This is their own claim based on what would have happened if their so - called “tough” Points Based System been in place last year.
Under Conservative policies, immigration would fall by 27% - from 237,000 to 172,000.
This is despite the fact that
- the Immigration Minister has pledged “This Government isn’t going to allow the population to go up to 70 million” (The Times, 18th October 2008)
- the Conservative Leader saying he wants net migration to be reduced to “the sort of figure it was in the 80s and 90s” (BBC Radio 5 Live, 15th February 2009). Overall net immigration in the 1980s averaged about 17,000 a year. The average for 1990-97 was 45,000.
Commenting on the research, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch UK, said:
'The main parties talk tough on immigration, but they are trying to ‘con’ the British public. According to Government figures, we can expect almost another 10 million people in England in 20 years time of which seven million will be due to immigration – equivalent to seven cities the size of Birmingham. Current Labour policy won’t begin to address this. The Conservatives are barely better: despite their rhetoric, they have a lightweight policy that sounds tough but won’t deliver.
'Until the main parties decide to be honest about an issue crucial to the future of our society and until they get real about the measures needed, extremist groups will continue to have a ball,' he said.
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Surge in Remittances Points to Sharp Rise in Illegal Immigrants from Pakistan
The number of illegal immigrants from Pakistan in the UK could be as high as 200,000 according to a new report out today which has compared official statistics on the number of Pakistani born workers with a dramatic increase in the level of remittances being sent to that country.
An examination of workers remittances shows that they are now more than six times higher than in 2001 but, according to the Government’s Labour Force Survey, the number of Pakistani born workers in Britain has risen by only 67%, says the report (Briefing Paper 11.16) from think tank Migrationwatch
To test whether Pakistan was out of line with other source countries the researchers compared remittances to the Philippines over the same period which also showed a rapid increase. They found that the number of those born in the Philippines and in employment in the UK had trebled in the same period thus explaining much of the increase. This suggested that there were a lot more Pakistanis in the UK than official figures indicate.
In 2001 about 108,000 Pakistani born workers remitted $80m, or about $750 a head. Assuming, for example, that remittances per head have doubled since then as wages have increased and workers have moved up the ladder, the current flow of $520m a year would require about 350,000 workers to send home $1500 each year.
However, only 180,000 Pakistani born workers appear in the official Labour Force Survey so the remaining 170,000 workers needed to reach this level of remittances are likely to be working illegally. But illegal workers are likely to be paid less than those here legally, so there could well be, on this very rough calculation, as many as 200,000 Pakistanis working illegally in Britain.
‘We already know from investigations by newspapers that there are significant numbers of fraudulent students from Pakistan but not all will have come via this route. As there are still no checks on departure, a proportion of those coming as visitors might well stay on after their visas expire. In the five years 2004-8 over half a million visas were issued in Pakistan, including nearly 60,000 student visas[1]. Others could have arrived on the back of a truck,’ said Sir Andrew, Chairman of Migrationwatch.
‘In our view the only plausible explanation for such a rapid increase in remittances from Pakistan is a sharp rise in the number of illegal immigrants sending money home. This paper only attempts a ball park figure but it points to a matter of considerable concern. Not only are illegal workers undercutting the wages of British workers but, in the case of Pakistan there are serious security aspects to an immigration system that has more holes than a Swiss cheese. This requires a root and branch review of the visa system for Pakistan,’ he said.
1 Hansard 29 April 2009 Col 1352W and 6 May 2009 Col 281W
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