David Cameron's calls for a "good immigration, not mass immigration" have not only caused ripples within the coalition Government but are also set to have wide repercussions in the region. Karen Dent asks business and education leaders what the Prime Minister's plans could mean for the North East.
WHEN Prime Minister David Cameron called for "good immigration, not mass immigration" in a speech to Tory party activists in Southampton last week, it wasn't just the hackles of Business Secretary Vince Cable that were raised.
Lib Dem Cable, who has already questioned the wisdom of capping the number of overseas entrants working for UK businesses and attending UK universities, said the Prime Minister’s comments were “very unwise”. This is a view which seems to be shared by many businesses and universities.
Cameron also said he intended to reduce the number of migrants to “tens of thousands each year” from the present “hundreds of thousands” during the lifetime of this parliament.
Last week Cameron delivered a tough speech on immigration in which he criticised the previous Labour government for net immigration of more than two million between 1997 and 2009.
Last year alone, net immigration into the UK topped 200,000. Some of these newcomers, Cameron said, could not speak English and had no wish to integrate into British life. Of the 2.5 million jobs created in Britain since 1997, two thirds had been filled by people born outside the United Kingdom and Cameron said he wanted to cut this figure to a few tens of thousands a year.
And yesterday Cameron was pushed to step back from his promise to cut net immigration to “tens of thousands” within this parliament after coming under fire from his Liberal Democrat cabinet colleagues.
He conceded in a BBC interview that his tens of thousands immigration cap was an “ambition” rather than government policy.
The number of non-European Economic Area (EEA) workers permitted into the UK to work this year stands at 21,700 – that’s more than 6,000 fewer than in 2009.
And the vast majority of those – 20,700 – must be skilled workers coming to the UK to take up a job; the rest are ‘talented’ people like artists or scientists; the rules are waived for those earning more than £150,000 a year, such as footballers.
Incidentally, the net migration figure has been rising recently, largely as a result of fewer British people emigrating to countries such as Spain – something else over which the government has no control.
Cameron’s speech has renewed concern in the parts of the business and educational communities in the North East about what the restrictions will mean. They are also worried about his suggestions to limit the number of visas issued to non-EU students.
In February, a report by Universities UK calculated that almost 1,500 jobs depend on the 16,000 international students studying at the North East’s five universities.
Newcastle University has around 4,000 overseas students, that’s 8-9% of its total student population, which are worth around £37m annually to the university.
Professor Tony Stevenson, Newcastle University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor for planning and resources, says: “Under the current proposals, we think we’re OK, because of our ‘highly trusted’ status.
“[But] it’s a philosophical issue for me: you’ve got Cameron and Hague going round saying ‘Britain is open for business’ – unless you’re a foreigner.”
It is precisely this attitude, he says, that is not doing the UK’s reputation any good on an international level.
“There is a danger you are sending out the message that Britain is not welcoming. We’re in danger of cutting off our nose to spite our face,” said Prof Stevenson.
“All of our students go back and are productive in their own countries, or some stay and marry UK nationals and add to the wealth and diversity of this country.”
