Dear Editor, New figures show that immigration to the UK has soared to 298,000 people per year. Just where are the government going find the jobs, housing, infrastructure and social and medical services that these people are going to need? Here in the North East we already have huge issues with a lack of housing, infrastructure, crippling council cuts and unemployment. How is a huge influx of more people going to do anything but put yet more pressure on these already serious issues?
Simultaneously, research from UCL shows many of our best and brightest
are leaving for overseas. Are they emigrating to the EU to enjoy the oft-hyped
benefits of that union? No, the top three destinations are Australia, America
and Canada.
Our society is losing many of its best trained whilst constantly adding
competition to those who are most vulnerable. Whilst our NHS is crippled by a
lack of British doctors and nurses and we are forced to recruit around the
world, we are losing the sort of people who could fill these roles.
Meanwhile the working classes who already earn the least are seeing
salaries and opportunities squeezed by evermore foreign workers applying for
jobs while being prepared to work for less because our minimum wage is so much
more than what they earned at home. As the cost of living continues to rise;
our youth and unemployed are faced with evermore competition for jobs that are
paying less than they once did.
These immigration figures are unsustainable and will cause many long term
problems if we can’t tackle the issue. We must gain control of our borders, end
open door immigration and reform our education system to ensure that we are
training the skills that we need for our economy and vital services.
Jonathan Arnott MEP
UKIP, North East
