Landeskunde ENG

• was introduced in 2004
• was maintained for the maximum period
allowed for temporary restrictions on A8
citizens (7 years)
• was removed on 1 May 2011
• A8 citizens now have the right to reside as
soon as they arrive in the UK

• The UK economy is strong
• It’s legally possible
• There’s a demand for their labour
• Wages are still much higher than in their own
countries
• There are well established A8 communities
and networks to help both new and returning
migrants to find a job and get settled

• After the high numbers of migrants from the
A8, the UK imposed restrictive transitional
arrangements on Romanians and Bulgarians
• Access for low-skilled workers was limited by
quotas (restricted to schemes in the
agricultural sector)
• High-skilled workers could apply for a work
permit or for clearance to set up in business
• The restrictions were lifted on 1 January 2014

The results of various studies are mixed, but most
suggest that:
- the effect of intra-EU migration on wages
is insignificant
- EU workers make a substantial net
contribution to the UK tax system
- EU migrants are young, mobile,
overqualified for the jobs they do and are
much less likely to claim benefits than
nationals

• It is estimated that there could be up to a million
Poles working in Britain at any one time (2011
census recorded 579,000 foreign-born Poles
residing in the UK)
• They are by far the largest group of EU migrants
• Their numbers have risen quickly in a short
period of time
• They are dispersed throughout the UK, but some
places have high concentrations (e.g. London and
Peterborough)

Some members of this section of society claim to
feel:
• marginalised
• alienated
• disadvantaged
• disenfranchised
The Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition has
pledged to bring net migration down to “tens of
thousands” per year by 2015

Immigration + the economy/law
• Fills labour shortages
• Boosts the economy
• Brings in money (taxes etc.)
• Complies with EU law (EU
migrants)
• Complies with UN
convention (refugees)
• Maintains a tradition (of
accepting refugees and
migrants)

Immigration + the electorate
• Changes society (culture
and race issues)
• Changes society (age)
• Increases the demand for
public services (especially
housing, schools and
healthcare)

• Annual cap on number of visas for skilled workers
with a job offer
• Non-EEA students: universities must register as
sponsors/restrictions on bringing in dependants
• Families: only those earning more than £18,600
can bring in non-EEA spouses or partners
• More checks to eliminate irregular migrants
(landlords and banks)

Roy Jenkins, the Labour Home Secretary in the
1960s, is credited with the concept of
multiculturalism.
He said: “Integration is not a flattening
process of assimilation but equal opportunity
accompanied by cultural diversity in an
atmosphere of mutual tolerance”.

The UK government will:
• Argue that terrorism is wrong in all circumstances
• Actively promote our values
• Only support and engage with those groups who
share our values
• Create a vision of society that all groups can
identify with
• Practise active, muscular liberalism, not passive
tolerance

Opportunities
• Enriches society with
cultural diversity
e.g.
- the arts
- music
- philosophy
- religion
- food
- skills

Threats (or perceived threats)
• Threatens “Britishness”
• Leads to ideological clashes
• Presents security challenges
• Creates alienation in some
sections of society
• Produces competition for
basic resources

The coalition are now focusing on:
• Moving away from multiculturalism to
promoting “shared values”
• Making citizenship harder to achieve
• Reducing net migration with more planning
and tighter controls
• Reforming the points-based system
• Stamping out welfare dependency

Includes:
• Dialogue on and prevention of unacceptable
practices such as:
- honour killings
- forced marriage
- female genital mutilation (FGM)
• Taking active steps to avoid and prevent
alienation in younger immigrants caught
between two cultures 

2014

jasvinder sanghera

14 December 2014: National Audit Office
report on the asylum system in the UK
released
• Thousands of asylum seekers left in limbo in
UK, awaiting a decision
• Not enough asylum caseworkers to do the job
• Thousands of refused asylum seekers still in
the UK

between 1.5m and 500 BC

- ancient Greek and Roman colonisation

- Mesopotamian, Inca, Indus and Zhou empires

- Vikings

- crusaders to the Holy Land

- revolutions

- wars

- the rise and fall of empires

- economic expansion

- nation-building

- political transformations

- conflict

- persecution

- dispossession

a migrant is someone who stays outside their usual country of residence for at least a year

in 2013: 232 million migrants in the world

- foreign born individuals

- foreign nationals

- people who have moved there for a year or more

migration has

- supported the growth of the world economy

- contributed to the evolution of states and societies

- enriched many cultures and civilisations

- dynamic

- entrepreneurial

- willing to take risks

- prepared to do jobs that nationals don't want to do

- (or) able to provide high-value skills that are in short supply in some countries

- voluntary vs forced (latter: usually refugees)

- political (usually refugees) vs economic (labour migrants = low skilled or highly skilled)

- social (often women and children moving to join husbands/fathers)

- legal vs illegal ("irregular" is often preferred)

- 1815-1845: 1.5 million went to Britain or USA

- huge exodus: after the Great Famine in 1845, 1 million died and 1 million emigrated to US, Canada, Australia but also to England

- further major wave of emigration to England from the 1930s to 1960s

first wave 1815-1845: to escape hunger and poverty

- 1. onward journey to USA, 2. seasonal farm work, 3. stay and work, 4. starve in Great Famine

- jobs in industry

- working on the docks

- labouring (Irish navvies): buildings, roads, railways and canals

- women in service / working as street vendors

- jobs in the army or police force

second wave 1930s-1960s: to escape poverty and social and religious oppression; to improve their situation, to see the world

- large families in basic accommodation

- lack of opportunities (jobs and education)

- social and cultural restrictions

- rural life: hand to mouth existence

- political unrest

- take jobs in industry and construction

- train as nurses

- take domestic work (especially women)

- join family/other members of the family had already "taken the boat"

- join ready-made irish communities (Liverpool, Manchester and London)

- become Irish landladies

- go home regularly