Scottish Sunday Express
WE GOT IT WRONG OVER MIGRANTS, SAYS WOOLAS
MISTAKE: Woolas has admitted that Labour got it wrong
Wednesday May 13,2009
By Alison Little
LABOUR’S open-door EU immigration policy was wrong and led to “significant” pressure on public services, Phil Woolas admitted yesterday.
In a frank confession, the Immigration Minister said the Government had failed to predict the scale of new arrivals after the EU expanded in 2004.
But he tried to blame the mistake on other countries – saying Britain was targeted because other nations imposed restrictions on newcomers.
More than a million migrants have arrived in the UK since Britain gave citizens from the “A8 accession” nations – of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia – full rights to travel and work here. Only Ireland and Sweden had the same policy.
Other EU countries restricted working rights for a transition period to stave off sudden immigration bursts. However, Britain tried to show it had learned from its mistake when Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in 2007 by imposing tighter restrictions on those countries’ nationals.
Mr Woolas yesterday acknowledged the Government’s past mistakes. He told a debate in London: “The lesson from the A8 accession is that the disruptive effects we got wrong, we didn’t predict that properly.
“And the reason why we got it wrong was because we didn’t reckon on the decisions of other European countries.
“We based our assumptions, or the London School of Economics based their assumptions, on the idea of a level playing market and of course it turned out not to be.
“And that turned out to have a very significant impact, and is still having a significant impact, on our public services.”
Sir Andrew Green, chairman of the Migrationwatch think-tank, told the event that even his own organisation’s predictions of how many eastern Europeans would come here had been too low.
“There was a major miscalculation made, as the minister recognised,” said Sir Andrew.
“At the time they said 5,000 to 13,000 a year. We said that estimate was worthless, that 40,000 would be a cautious estimate. We were wrong, it was three times that. The Government was 10 times wrong.”
Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green commented after the debate: “I am glad that ministers have finally agreed that they were wrong when they took the decision in 2004. It is however absurd to blame other countries for taking different and sensible decisions at the same time.
“We told ministers to use transitional arrangements to smooth the flow of immigration, just as the French and Germans did, and they ignored us.”
Since becoming Immigration Minister last October, outspoken Mr Woolas has sought to take a tougher line on immigration, admitting the public needs reassuring that the Government has a grip on the issue.
Recent figures suggest the number of workers coming to Britain from the A8 countries has tailed off because of the recession and other countries opening up their labour markets.
Posts
LIEBORE DID ***NOT*** GET IT WRONG
13.05.09, 8:23pm
Don't believe their LIES, Liebore and BLIAR in particular did NOT get it wrong, quite simply, because it was DELIBERATE, I repeat, DELIBERATE Government policy to allow those immigrants in. Why won't they give us a vote in a referendum on this??? Pretty obvious, isn't it?
Do NOT listen to what this lying Government says, look instead to what it actually DOES, i.e. NOTHING to stop it, except some flimsy steps to make it APPEAR as if they are doing something effective.
In other words, Liebore is a traitorous, criminal and scummy party that Cromwell would have put to the sword.
• Posted by: The_Boss • Report Comment
WEAK WOOLAS,GOT IT SO WRONG AND HE IS LARGELY TO BLAME
13.05.09, 6:48pm
IF ONLY THE BRITS HAD THE BALLS!!!
• Posted by: scorpius •
RUDD AUSSIE PM was spot on with his veiws
you have to admire a man with a passion and belief for his country,it makes me so angry to hear our pm and his cronies spout opinion to us over the issue of immigrants,they want to be so plitically correct that they have asbsolutly NO idea how to serve,TRUTH IS THERES NO ROOM FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE NOW,AND WHAT ABOUT THE GURHAS?THEY DESERVE TO BE ALLOWED HERE,though god knows why they would want to,men who die for britain should ,if they choose ,be able to live here,that is the right of the soldier
woolas is a bumbling fool,he knew and the government knew of the figures,or did they just lose count after a million.
I have said in previous posts,given we alledgedly in this country have the best financial brains( money from the taxpayer )can buy and so called masters of their craft,how did these dipsticks claim they did not know,
LIARS.
• Posted by: imonlyobeyingordersitswithintherulesandweneedapayr •Report Comment
THE PROBLEM WAS THE CALCULATION, NOT THE DECISION
13.05.09, 6:31pm
Phil Wools has got the wrong thing wrong.
In essence the decision to invite A8 nationals to come here and work was the right one in the climate at the time, when Britain had had 10 years of a boom economy and new fresh blood from Central Europe was needed to fuel that economy further. The arrival of the Poles and their neighbours gave our economy more bounce just when the other European countries (except Sweden and Ireland) scuttled for a seemingly safer option.
What the government of the day got wrong was the numbers. The Polish community leaders warned the government at the time that the Government predictions on how many would come were laughingly inadequate and that proper statistics were required to ensure that local government, health authorities and the local police had adequate resources to deal wiith the influx in different parts of the UK. This the government failed to do. In making this statement now Woolas is making the current position of Poles legally working in this country more precarious and will increase community tension.
• Posted by: Victor9 • Report Comment
THE PROBLEM WAS THE CALCULATION, NOT THE DECISION
13.05.09, 6:31pm
Phil Wools has got the wrong thing wrong.
In essence the decision to invite A8 nationals to come here and work was the right one in the climate at the time, when Britain had had 10 years of a boom economy and new fresh blood from Central Europe was needed to fuel that economy further. The arrival of the Poles and their neighbours gave our economy more bounce just when the other European countries (except Sweden and Ireland) scuttled for a seemingly safer option.
What the government of the day got wrong was the numbers. The Polish community leaders warned the government at the time that the Government predictions on how many would come were laughingly inadequate and that proper statistics were required to ensure that local government, health authorities and the local police had adequate resources to deal wiith the influx in different parts of the UK. This the government failed to do. In making this statement now Woolas is making the current position of Poles legally working in this country more precarious and will increase community tension.
• Posted by: Victor9 • Report Comment
THE PROBLEM WAS THE CALCULATION, NOT THE DECISION
13.05.09, 6:31pm
Phil Wools has got the wrong thing wrong.
In essence the decision to invite A8 nationals to come here and work was the right one in the climate at the time, when Britain had had 10 years of a boom economy and new fresh blood from Central Europe was needed to fuel that economy further. The arrival of the Poles and their neighbours gave our economy more bounce just when the other European countries (except Sweden and Ireland) scuttled for a seemingly safer option.
What the government of the day got wrong was the numbers. The Polish community leaders warned the government at the time that the Government predictions on how many would come were laughingly inadequate and that proper statistics were required to ensure that local government, health authorities and the local police had adequate resources to deal wiith the influx in different parts of the UK. This the government failed to do. In making this statement now Woolas is making the current position of Poles legally working in this country more precarious and will increase community tension.
• Posted by: Victor9 • Report Comment
THEY DIDN'T GET IT WRONG.
13.05.09, 6:07pm
They didn't get it wrong, anyone with a computer can check and see the employment statistics of the eastern European countries prior to the EU's expansion and would have known that there would have been a massive influx of people looking for well paid steady work. Blair knew what we would get but estimating half a million would have frightened the population, and caused debate on whether our infrastructure could cope with another half million many of whom would want to sign up for a Doctor or Dentist, need housing etc. He fobbed us of with a paltry 13,000 estimate and hoped for the best. What did he get? Well certainly not British jobs for British workers, that's for sure.
• Posted by: why0why • Report Comment