By Yemi Dipeolu
A publication revealing the true impact of immigration on British unemployment has reportedly been blocked by Downing Street.
BBC Newsnight claims that the report, a follow up on the study by the Migration Advisory Committee in 2012, which alleged that ‘for every 100 immigrants (…) 23 British citizens would be unemployed’, reveals that the figures are in fact much lower.
Downing Street has hindered the publication of the new report claiming that it is not yet complete. However, officials have said that it has in fact been ready since last year. They believe that revealing the figures would be both inflammatory and controversial and will only serve to frustrate the government’s plan to reduce the number of immigrants to below 100,000 annually.
The original figures have been used repeatedly by various politicians, most notably by Home Secretary Theresa May, but both the Business Department and the Treasury believe that the study was insufficient. The current research is thought to be much more viable, having been conducted by civil servants and checked by external academics. The Home Office disputes this, claiming that it is biased in favour of the views of pro-migration officials at the Treasury and in the Business Department.
Reacting to the dispute, shadow immigration minister David Hanson said: “the British people should have information made available to them so they can make a judgement about the impact of immigration on jobs”.
Although these most recent figures on the effect of immigration on unemployment have not yet been published, other figures show that the impact is not as dire as was initially believed. Last year’s labour market statistics disclosed that 87 per cent of new jobs went to British nationals with only 13 per cent going to foreigners.
Downing Street claims that although the new figures have been compiled there is still much work to be completed on the report and, according to Conservative MP Stephen Barclay, the notion that they are trying to hide anything is “nonsense”.
