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1.3M POLES ARRIVED IN BRITAIN LAST YEAR

Poles arriving at Victoria Station

Thursday January 24,2008

By Gabriel Milland – Political Correspondent

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(57)

A RECORD 1.3million Poles travelled to Britain last year, it emerged last night.

The official figures immediately provoked condemnation of the Government’s failure to monitor the country’s borders.

The influx was more than six times the number who arrived in 2002, two years before Poland joined the EU and its citizens were granted the right to live and work in Britain.

But even that massive total was called into question when critics of the Government’s border control policy described it as a “drastic understatement” of the true picture.

At the same time, local authorities complained to MPs that the Government’s failure to monitor the number of people in Britain was leaving them with an intolerable financial burden which had to be borne by council tax payers. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis condemned Labour’s failure to get a grip on numbers. He said: “We need urgent reform of the way these figures are counted.

If you can’t count a problem you can’t deal with it

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis

“The Government’s ineffective method means they are not getting accurate data and it is local authorities, public services, housing providers and taxpayers who are bearing the brunt of this incompetence.

“It’s clear the Government has no real idea of the true number of people entering or leaving the country. What we need is a proper border force. If you can’t count a problem you can’t deal with it.”

Labour MP and former minister Frank Field said: “Today’s survey sounds like a drastic understatement.

“Any figures the Government comes up with are way out. You just have to look around at our towns and cities to know that.”

Mr Field called on the Government to negotiate a deal with Brussels which would strip EU nationals of the automatic right to live and work in Britain. He said it was necessary to protect both indigenous Britons and migrants who have arrived in recent years. He said: “There’s no excuse for inaction in protecting our national identity.”

The official figures were based on a survey of visitors by the Government’s Office of National Statistics.

But adding to the impression that many coming as visitors were in fact looking for work, Poles spent just an average £24 a day in 2006, compared with £129 for visitors from Luxembourg.

Even visitors from Turkey – much poorer than Poland – spent an average of £47 a day.

When Labour opened the immigration floodgates in 2004, it was estimated that barely 10,000 Eastern and central Europeans would arrive. But 743,000 have registered for work since 2004.

Including self-employed, the true picture is nearer 900,000.

As well as Poles, the ONS figures also revealed huge increases in visitors from other nations which joined the EU in 2004. The biggest increase was from Slovakia, with an average annual growth of 75 per cent.

The figures were revealed as a senior Treasury official confessed that the Government has no real idea of the true number of people who have arrived – legally and illegally – under Labour’s “open door” immigration policy.

Christopher Kelly told the Commons Treasury Sub-committee that the 10-yearly census was next to useless when it came to measuring the impact of migration.

He said: “We know we have a problem with migration statistics. Everyone accepts it.”

Councils also told the MPs of their frustrations. Andrew Blake Herbert, of Slough in Berkshire, said the census officially recorded a population drop in his borough, but local schools this year had to accommodate 800 pupils who did not speak English.

5CC AKA VINCE III

25.01.08, 6:57pm

No, "rational" man's comments were addressed to this board in general. And as such we, in the terminology of you lot, "racist" bigoted" and I suspect that he's an "anti-Semite" as well.

• Posted by: CharlesTree • Report Comment

AGAIN - THESE FIGURES DON'T SAY 1.3M POLES ARRIVED LAST YEAR

25.01.08, 1:25pm

They only say that 1.3m visits of less than a year were made by Polish people - and since some of them probably came more than once, fewer than 1.3m almost definitely arrived.

The average length of visit was just 17 days.

At an average spend of £24 a day, that makes a total of around £540,000,000 last year.

And CharlesTree - it's pretty obvious that RationalMan was talking about BNP members - not white people in genera'. The clue is that he says 'dullards in the BNP' and not 'white people'.

• Posted by: 5cc • Report Comment

"RATIONAL" MAN

25.01.08, 12:47pm

You stereotyped:

"you lot on your dodgy benefit claims with your bad backs and whatever else you dream up on a Monday morning."

Interesting isn't it. Every ethnic "community" in the UK is protected by law from racist, bigoted stereotyping. But "rational" man can come here and stereotype the indigenous British community as all being "lazy" and think that it's ok.

Lovely country we live in, isn't it?

• Posted by: CharlesTree • Report Comment

1.3M POLES ARRIVED IN BRITAIN LAST YEAR

25.01.08, 8:30am

Look I am not blaming these immigrates for wanting to better themselves and their families, most are honest, hard working people.

I just think common sense tells us (with brains) we can not sustain these figures. Lets not also forget the massive social impact this is having on our,housing, health,education and social services.

Migrants do contribute to the economy but lets look at the real picture. The real figure is 0.01% of GDP or 4p per head and thats based on a Home Office Ministers official estimate.

Most of these EU immigrates have stated they will permanently reside here and what happens when we have a recession and all these people are entitled to benefits etc.

To rationalman you should change your user name to moronman. If you carry on with your bigotted statements I'm going have to rip up your Guardian kiddies club membership card.

• Posted by: Ade1 • Report Comment

LETS LOOK AT IT WITH HONESTY

25.01.08, 6:05am

First of all the polish are not to blame for this problem, they are just using a service that has been offered in a legal way, and they have every right to take advantage aslong they are within the law.

The reason brits are in a panic mode is they have never seen such mass migration within such a short time...

The brits know the traditional migrants from the caribean, asia and africa, which they have historic links with, who come in thel last 50 years and beyond... but have never seen so many europeans who are white and speak a different language in their country...

But brits are not used to seeing within a few years migrant people that came in the last 50 years being out numbered within 3 years by people from eastern europe.

Even the traditional migrants will tell you now who most are citizen of this country by the way, they have never seen such mass migration in the UK, many will say like all other brits they feel pushed out in a way.

The other thing is this mass migration coming to the UK are coming legaly to the country.

What most concerns many is when they come you don't know who is who, you could have criminals come in to the country, were they are unknown here, and can live with a clear record.

I think Immigration is a good think for this country aslong local services and people of britain are not put under pressure and the people do not feel a burden which is direcly linked to immigration, i think immigration should benefit the people of britain and also the migrants and should not be sided one way or serve one side only.

I have seen 12 years ago how polish and romanians were deported from Germany before they joined the EU.

Blame no other for the suffering of brits and the migrants from eastern europe some who are being abused to some extend.

My heart goes to both who have been victim of a government which had plenty of time to plan and prepare for mass migration and which is still unwilling to do anything about this situation!

With rising inflation and high unemployment and falling house prices , high energy cost, food, oil and massive debt people owe and on top of that crime as a gift?

I don't know were all this is going to end up, with a government that has no plan even in sight!

No wonder that record number of brits are moving to places like Spain,Australia,Dubai,New Zealand and Canada.

I wish everyone the best for their future plans!

• Posted by: Brit2008 • Report Comment

RATIONAL MAN

25.01.08, 2:38am

A Daily Mail columnist summed up your type perfectly: "brain-dead Liberal"

I'd like to graft onto that a few more observations.

You assume that everyone who doesn't agree with you is a dullard/a BNP dullard...

So you're a narrow-minded, brain-dead Liberal.

You assume that Dullards are, by and large, overweight & out of work....

So that makes you a bigoted, narrow-minded, brain-dead Liberal.

You ignore the exploitation angle that occurs in mass immigration, citing all kinds of profit margins and benefits...

So that makes you a greedy, bigoted, narrow-minded, brain-dead Liberal.

So, in fact, you're just like all the other greedy bigoted, narrow-minded, brain-dead Liberals; so rigidly loyal to your notion of open borders that you're all, essentially monocultural, greedy, bigoted, narrow-minded, brain-dead Liberals.