Immigration in the UK

The removal of immigration restrictions from Romania and Bulgaria following both countries full ascension to the European Union has reignited the political debate over immigration with supporters of UKIP and more rebellious parts of the Conservative Party targeting the amounts of immigrants that come into the UK from the European Union as part of a strong anti-EU campaign, seemingly blaming them from everything to a lack of employment, the poor state of local government services, infrastructures and the current state of our educational and health service, but is this conservative rhetoric supported by data? Are they an unfair burden to the taxpayer that should be clamped down upon or are they a welcome reprieve to our governments treasury balance? Research recently carried out by the Centre of Research and Analysis of Migration partly answers that question and seems to completely disprove this anti-immigration rhetoric with the university study concluding that on average from 2000-2011 EU immigrants actually provided the UK treasury with more in taxes then they take in return for welfare payments and social housing, the report even going as far to say that non-EU immigrants contributed slightly more in taxes for the amount of benefits they received with recent numbers showing an equality with British workers during the same time period. 

So then why is current public opinion seemingly weighted against immigration even from the European Union? The answer to that question lies with our nations mainstream media with right-wing outlets like the Daily Mail and the Daily Star frequently running articles that severely demonize the immigrant community and help spread a false perception that immigrants rely on benefits and get access to superior social housing before anyone else when the reality is quite the opposite. If Pro-EU institutions wish to see our country remain inside the EU then they must win the propaganda battle against their opposite numbers and counter these ingrained beliefs with energetic enthusiasm and the confident use of current data.