Mass immigration to strain UK infrastructure – report
Source: rt.com
Population growth caused by mass immigration will place a strain on British infrastructure, claims a think tank, despite previous evidence that migrants contribute more to the economy than they take. (sure they do, that is why Denmark saves billions by adopting stricter immigration laws)The current financial benefits of migration, including GDP growth and higher wages, will be outweighed by the pressures of a larger population, says Cambridge economics expert Robert Rowthorn for Civitas.“Immigration on the scale the UK has experienced in recent years has many potential consequences,” says Rowthorn. “If it persists over a long period of time, it may radically alter the cultural, ethnic, racial and political character of this country.”Around 130,000 people migrate to the UK from EU countries per year, with movement from Poland expected to fall and numbers from Bulgaria and Romania likely to either grow or remain static.The UK’s population could grow by 20 million over the next 50 years and 29 million over the next 75 years, according for the Office for National Statistics, if a “high migration scenario” occurred, impacting on housing, land, schools, hospitals, water supplies and transport.[...]David Cameron has amplified his rhetoric against immigrants over the past year to win back voters from the Euroskeptic and anti-immigration party UKIP. In a recent policy shift, he announced EU migrants could now only claim benefits for a maximum of three months, down from six.These legislative changes, which apply to child tax credit, child benefits and job seeker’s allowance, will be implemented in November. They follow a swathe of measures to limit migrants’ access to NHS treatment, housing and welfare introduced earlier this year.The European Commission (EC) has made it clear that it endorses the principle of free movement within the EU, where citizens have the right to work and live in all member states. But the coalition’s planned reforms to migrants’ benefits undermine this principle.Earlier in 2014, the UK government faced potential legal action from the EC as a result of its efforts to impose restrictions on migrants’ benefits.Read the full article at: rt.com
