Immigration - More Are Wanting to Stay

An interesting article appeared in the Metro today, (Tuesday May 29th 2007), regarding how more immigrants from Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Bulgaria are wanting to stay here in the United Kingdom. According to the article out of 333 participants at the beginning of 2004 only 6% wanted to stay for more than an 18 month period, however, by the end of the year this had risen to 29%. In addition, more women than men wanted to stayhere in the United Kingdom.

What about the social outlook of the immigrants?

According to the Metro only 33 % knew how to register with a doctor and 54% had received information about their conditional immigration. Housing also appears to be an issue with 44% of those questioned were living in one room with somebody else other than their partner.

What are these migrants doing vocationally?

According to the Metro, in a different article, the agriculture sector in the UK is suffering, with the strawberry crop not being pick and therefore is being left to rot in the field. So where are the immigrants going to work?  In my hometown of Wakefield the signs are there, for example, that Poles are starting to open their own shops, like Deli Polski. The success of the Polish immigrants is not going unoticed at home neither, as is show in this story which was carried in the Warsaw Voice.

I'd love to hear your comments on these facts figures and developments....

For more information on research carried out by the Jospeh Rowntree Foundation visit the website at http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/0226.asp