In reports today, Prime Minister David Cameron has defended migrants from Eastern European countries for coming to the UK and has commended their ‘can do’ attitude compared to young Brits. This comes after latest figures released show that net migration in the UK has increased from 153,000 to 176,00 in the year to December 2012, bucking a trend in which totals have fallen steadily from above 200,000 since 2011.
EEA Migrant Workers Not to Be Blamed For Seeking Work in UK
Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that foreign nationals cannot be blamed for attempting to find jobs in British factories when the error is really within UK schools and colleges for not teaching students the essential skills to do the work. Speaking to a group of apprentices at a Mini factory in Oxfordshire he explained that “poor training and school standards mean young Britons do not have the skills and qualifications to compete.”
David Cameron went on to recognize the part EEA workers play in the UK and said:
“You can go to factories in our country where half the people come from Poland, Lithuania or Latvia. You can’t blame them, they want to work, they see the jobs, they come over and they do them. But as a country we ought to be saying no”.
Problem Not Just With UK Immigration but with Education & Welfare
In the discussion with the apprentices, David Cameron not only pointed to the education system for failing school leavers, he also suggested that the welfare system was not encouraging work and required a reform as “(it) does not pay to be out of work”.
David Cameron further stated that he believes if the three issues of immigration, education and welfare are cracked together, it may create an economy which produces wealth for the British people.
“Let’s get our education system right so we are producing young people out of our schools and colleges who are fully capable of doing the jobs. Second, let’s reform the welfare system so that it doesn’t pay to be out of work. And third, let’s have sensible controls on immigration.”