Today, a report published by the University College London (UCL) found that European migrants have contributed £20bn to the UK economy between 2001 to 2011. This comes one month after David Cameron has very publicly said he would not hesitate to restrict the EU freedom of movement.
UK Born Workers were found to have made a Negative Contribution of £591bn to the UK Economy
According to the report between 1995 and 2011 European migrants made a ‘positive financial’ contribution of £4.4bn to the UK economy. During the same period UK born workers were found to have made a negative contribution of £591bn to the economy and migrants from outside the EEA also made a negative contribution of £118bn. The report also showed:
- 60 percent of western European migrants who come to the UK have a university degree, compared to 25 percent of eastern Europeans.
- Only 24 percent of the British workforce have completed a university degree.
- Two-thirds of the £20bn were contributed by by citizens of original EU countries, such as Germany, France and Italy, while the additional £5 billion was contributed to the UK by residents of eastern European countries.
Professor Christian Dustmann, co-author of the study, commented on the misconception of migration in the UK and the positives of migration:
“A key concern in the public debate on migration is whether immigrants contribute their fair share to the tax and welfare systems. European immigrants, particularly, both from the new accession countries and the rest of the European Union, make the most substantial contributions. This is mainly down to their higher average labour market participation compared with natives and their lower receipt of welfare benefits.”
David Cameron: EU not Working Properly for us at the Moment
During the Conservative Party conference which took place on 1 October 2014 in Birminham Mr Cameron expressed that he would not be disappointed if Britain left the EU. When asked how it would of compared to Scotland leaving the union he simply said he felt “about a thousand times more strongly about our UK” than the EU.
Mr Cameron went onto say that he will go to Brussels to negotiate a change in the rules for new members joining the union:
“We will be wanting to make certain at a European as well as a national level that the right of people to work or retire around Europe does not become a right to travel around in order to collect social security benefits or commit crime.”
“What is best for our UK. How do we get the best deal for Britain. That is what I feel strongly about. If I didn’t think it was in Britain’s interests to be in the EU, I would not argue for it. Let’s be frank. It is not working properly for us at the moment.”
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