Calls for tougher UK immigration curbs criticized
Business groups and individuals in the UK have criticized increasing political calls for tougher limitations on immigrants.
John Cridland, the director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said on Tuesday that any such limitations on migrant workers would have a “material impact” on UK competitiveness.
Concerning the UK’s shortcomings, especially skills shortage, expressing harsh attitudes about immigrants is worrying, Cridland said.
“I think the business community would struggle to source the skills that they need without the benefits of the open European market and the visa system, which also allow them to bring in a small number of skilled immigrants from elsewhere in the world,” he added.
Cridland also stated that immigrants bring economic growth and prosperity to the UK, together with their social values.
“A sensible, managed migration policy champions the economic benefits but also recognizes the social costs and implications of allowing more migrants in to Britain,” he stated.
The debate over immigration heated on Tuesday after Leader of UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage said he is in favor of lowering the number of immigrants even if it results in declining the growth rate.
“If you said to me ‘Would you want to see over the next 10 years a further 5 million people come into Britain and if that happened we’d all be slightly richer?’, I would say ‘Actually, do you know what? I’d rather we weren’t slightly richer and I’d rather we had communities that felt more united and I’d rather have a situation where young unemployed British people had a realistic chance of getting a job’,” Farage said.
Farage’s comments, however, sparked criticism from anti-racist campaigners with Sunder Katwala, the director of the British Future think tank, warning that UKIP could alienate voters if it takes such hard-line stance on immigration.
“It (UKIP) needs to get into the debate of how a diverse society deals with immigration and integration,” Katwala said.
