Don Flynn* Is immigration just an accident, prompted by the selfish behaviour of the metropolitan elite, or a vital component in the functioning of a globalised economy? That was the issue at the heart of the spat between two government ministers last week. Decision on who is right will decide the future direction of immigration…
Tag: Government policy
Migrants’ Rights Network: Migration statistics are difficult reading for Cameron but prove critics right
Awale Olad* The latest quarterly statistics from the independent Office of National Statistics found net migration soaring to 212,000 by the year ending September 2013. The Home Office’s response was that it was cracking down on the abuse of ‘freedom of movement’. The figures show a statistically significant increase in Western European (EU15) citizens arriving…
Migrants’ Rights Network: An atlas of migration that tells the story of globalisation and barriers to freedom
Don Flynn* David Cameron’s intervention during the EU leaders’ summit meeting in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius last week has made it clear enough that the issues of immigration and Europe are going to be heavily intertwined during the political debates of the coming period. Read full story here. Cameron’s claims that the…
Migrants’ Rights Network: What is driving the ‘hostile environment’ idea (in the UK)?
By Don Flynn* The announcement of yet more changes to the immigration rules will cause anxiety to run down the spine of many a legal migrant as they struggle to understand whether it has implications for them. The government has declared that the intention behind the new Immigration Bill currently being considered…
Migrants’ Rights Network: Immigration is an important factor in Conservative rise in the polls
MT comment: Solid analysis by Awale Olad on what role the anti-immigrant message will play in the polls and upcoming elections in the United Kingdom. The delicate balancing act involves anti-immigration rhetoric, which could be ignited by the government’s Immigration Bill, and scaring away those votes it needs to capture, according to Olad. With…
Migrant Rights’ Network: UKIP has an advantage that is not based on concrete policy proposals
By Awale Olad The aftermath of the UKIP surge in the polls in the local elections has led to a lot of soul searching in mainstream politics. To the detriment of the Conservative Party whilst also hacking away at both the support of the Labour and Liberal Democrats parties, UKIP emerged as the third most…
Migrant Rights’ Network: Voters’ verdict: Immigration not as important as the economy, Europe, or taxes
By Awale Olad Election junkies in the UK and Europe have had a satisfying fix over the last couple of weeks. From the historical win of Francois Hollande in France to the local election gains in the UK mid-term elections for the Labour Party and Greece’s new political turmoil and looming elections – a further…