By Ed Conway, Economics Editor (SKY NEWS) Immigration is changing Britain. This is not merely a theory - its statistical fact. Back in 2004, less than a decade ago, one in 11 of those living in Britain were born abroad. Today the proportion is one in eight - 12.4%. And, just as is the case for economic growth and productivity, the immigration picture varies throughout the country. Some 42% of Londons population was born outside the UK, compared to just 5% in the North of England. Though more attention tends to be focused on the flows of immigration - in other words people entering and leaving the country, the gradually-changing make-up of the UK population represents a significant shift - both in social and economic terms. On the one hand, theres the question of how much immigrants cost Britains welfare state. A quarter of new-born babies in Britain last year had non-UK-born mothers - the highest proportion since records began in 1969. But you can only really get a clear sense of the absolute impact by taking a step back and comparing the cost of immigration with the related income - the taxes these new members of the population pay. Research from the OECD shows that immigrants actually bring in over £7bn more than they cost. Thats the equivalent of a penny off the basic rate of income tax. There are other economic arguments in favour: Free movement of labour is usually good news for businesses, since it allows them to attract workers from all over the world, not merely locals.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 21:59:41 +0000
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