The Metropolis

Why we should welcome foreign migrants to London

Mike Pollitt | Friday 14 June, 2013 11:26

James Kirkup has a post at the Telegraph simultaneously being accurate and trolling his own readers with the news that immigration is a net plus for the British economy.

Sample quote:

“…the OECD found that international migration is making a positive difference to Britain’s public finances. That is, the Government’s deficit is smaller than it would have been without the presence of immigrants in the UK.”

He has charts and so on, and is basically arguing with facts against the mindset which produces this:

I’d like to add a London specific graph into the mix.

This shows internal, UK movement in and out of London. If you grew up in, say, the North and moved to London for work in the last 10 years, you’re one of the “ins” on here. Likewise if you used to live in London but moved to a nice cottage on the South Downs to keep some bees, you’re one of the “outs”.

Source: london.gov.uk migration indicators June 2013 The numbers are based on people registering with new GPs, which shows when they are moving their lives somewhere else

What this neatly shows is that more people leave London for other parts of the UK each year than come in from those parts.

Then how can London grow? Partly because of all the people coming in from outside the UK.

Simplifying: economic migrants from inside the UK (like me), and economic migrants from outside the UK, both contribute to London’s growth. This makes it a better place to live.

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