Britain's anti-immigration heartland | The Economist
- 5 years ago
In agricultural towns like Boston, in Lincolnshire, immigration is voters' biggest gripe. UKIP has benefited from this.
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The market town of Boston in the south of Lincolnshire was until 10 years ago almost entirely white and British. Now about 10 percent of the people living here are of Eastern European origin. For some Britons this is an unwelcome change.
In the 11 years since countries such as Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia entered the European Union thousands of Eastern Europeans have come to Lincolnshire to work in its fields. Last year net migration into Britain stood at just over 300,000 people. 78,000 people arrived from Eastern Europe where wages are often a third lower than the EU average. Immigration is one of the key issues in the British election which is taking place on May the 7th. While the constituency of Boston and Skegness has been a safe conservative party seat since the 1960s, many English-born locals say they will vote for the United Kingdom Independence Party or UKIP.
At the heart of UKIP's election campaign is its pledge to reduce the number of immigrants coming to work and live in Britain. It also wants the country to withdraw from the EU. These two policies could win the party a lot of votes in towns like Boston.
UKIP maintains that the easy availability of foreign labour has held down wages. For the moment, most studies suggest that immigration does not reduce wages for most Britons. In fact it boosts them as immigrants create more wealth for the economy. But migration might reduce wages for the lowest skilled 5% of workers, who are most likely to find themselves competing with migrants for jobs. Those whose wages are most affected are former migrants themselves. Outside Boston, where local farmers rely on the supply of foreign-born labour to run their farms, support for UKIP's policies is more limited.
There is anecdotal evidence that a large number of immigrants can put a strain on public services. UKIP bitterly maintains this point, yet Britain needs these hard-working low-wage workers. They tend to be young and healthy, meaning they pay taxes but do not place much of a burden on the National Health Service or the welfare state. According to a study by University College London, in 2014 immigrants from the new EU states pay 12% more in taxes to the British state then they receive from it in public services and citizens from the older Western EU countries contribute 64% more than they receive. Fearful of losing voters to UK on this issue David Cameron, the Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader, has promised tougher restrictions on immigration. It is doubtful how much difference this will make yet it reveals the extent to which UKIP has been able to shape the campaign agenda of the main parties.
16% of British people say they intend to vote for UKIP. Under the country's electoral system, the party with the largest number of votes in each constituency takes its one parliamentary seat. That disadvantages smaller parties like UKIP which may win as few as two or three seats of the general election - but Nigel Farage, its leader, is playing the long game. He says the party is building up its regional strength in places like Lincolnshire with an eye to winning many more seats at the following general election in 2020.
Meanwhile more and more voters in towns like Boston seem willing to listen to UKIP's voice
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The market town of Boston in the south of Lincolnshire was until 10 years ago almost entirely white and British. Now about 10 percent of the people living here are of Eastern European origin. For some Britons this is an unwelcome change.
In the 11 years since countries such as Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia entered the European Union thousands of Eastern Europeans have come to Lincolnshire to work in its fields. Last year net migration into Britain stood at just over 300,000 people. 78,000 people arrived from Eastern Europe where wages are often a third lower than the EU average. Immigration is one of the key issues in the British election which is taking place on May the 7th. While the constituency of Boston and Skegness has been a safe conservative party seat since the 1960s, many English-born locals say they will vote for the United Kingdom Independence Party or UKIP.
At the heart of UKIP's election campaign is its pledge to reduce the number of immigrants coming to work and live in Britain. It also wants the country to withdraw from the EU. These two policies could win the party a lot of votes in towns like Boston.
UKIP maintains that the easy availability of foreign labour has held down wages. For the moment, most studies suggest that immigration does not reduce wages for most Britons. In fact it boosts them as immigrants create more wealth for the economy. But migration might reduce wages for the lowest skilled 5% of workers, who are most likely to find themselves competing with migrants for jobs. Those whose wages are most affected are former migrants themselves. Outside Boston, where local farmers rely on the supply of foreign-born labour to run their farms, support for UKIP's policies is more limited.
There is anecdotal evidence that a large number of immigrants can put a strain on public services. UKIP bitterly maintains this point, yet Britain needs these hard-working low-wage workers. They tend to be young and healthy, meaning they pay taxes but do not place much of a burden on the National Health Service or the welfare state. According to a study by University College London, in 2014 immigrants from the new EU states pay 12% more in taxes to the British state then they receive from it in public services and citizens from the older Western EU countries contribute 64% more than they receive. Fearful of losing voters to UK on this issue David Cameron, the Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader, has promised tougher restrictions on immigration. It is doubtful how much difference this will make yet it reveals the extent to which UKIP has been able to shape the campaign agenda of the main parties.
16% of British people say they intend to vote for UKIP. Under the country's electoral system, the party with the largest number of votes in each constituency takes its one parliamentary seat. That disadvantages smaller parties like UKIP which may win as few as two or three seats of the general election - but Nigel Farage, its leader, is playing the long game. He says the party is building up its regional strength in places like Lincolnshire with an eye to winning many more seats at the following general election in 2020.
Meanwhile more and more voters in towns like Boston seem willing to listen to UKIP's voice
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