The London School of Economics states in its latest analysis on the impact of EU Migration that its financial impact is largely beneficial to Britain.
Key findings have included:
- “The bottom line, which may surprise many people, is that EU immigration has not harmed the pay, jobs or public services enjoyed by Britons. EU immigrants pay more in taxes than they use in public services and therefore they help to reduce the budget deficit.”
- EU immigrants are less likely to claim benefits than British born citizens are. They contribute more in tax than they use in public services.
- EU immigrants are more likely to create jobs by using local shops and other services, which increases demand for goods and services, in turn creating more employment opportunities.
- EU immigrants are not responsible for high unemployment rates. Areas with high immigration do not have higher rates of unemployed British people than other areas with less immigration.
- EU immigrants on average have higher education attainment levels than British born citizens do.
- There is no evidence that crime levels increase in line with the number of EU immigrants living in an area.
- If the UK were to leave the EU but wanted to remain a member of the European Free Trade Area or the European Economic Area, it may have to accept unrestricted EU immigration just as all other countries like Norway or Switzerland do.
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The Syrian refugee crisis is not related to the UK’s continued membership of the EU. Stopping illegal entry to the UK would not be any easier after Brexit.
As a side note from diskuss, EU immigrants and refugees from outside the EU are often mixed up in this discussion. Refugees were in the past often economic migrants but not so anymore in the current refugee crisis. It is expected the from the more than 1 million asylum seekers that came to Germany in 2015, 80% to 90% are legitimate asylum seekers.
