Does Immigration Have A Positive Impact On The UK Economy?

Does Immigration have a Positive Impact
on the UK Economy?
Student Number= 22506173
Degree Programme= Foundation Politics
Introduction
As the modern period has progressed the extent of
immigration to the UK has changed drastically, and how this
impacts Britain’s economy is continuously debated.
Immigration today consists of vast numbers of labourers
entering the UK, having a huge impact on the British
economy. This essay will argue that immigration, with some
exceptions, is highly beneficial for the UK economy overall.
To prove this, my aim will be to demonstrate the benefits
and drawbacks of immigration, and my objectives will be to
show how different types of migrants impact the UK.
The Body of the Argument

Skilled immigration is vital to the British economy due, in
part, to labour shortages. The most obvious example of this is
doctors, especially in the NHS. There are 8,728 doctor
vacancies, (BMA, 2023) and as a result a third of doctors are
of a migrant background, (Baker, C 2022) showing the need
for skilled migrants. However, financial strain has also made
becoming a doctor in the UK harder. According to Student
Finance England, (Suji, T. Vernon, M. Lawson-Smith, E.
Sucharitkul, P. Garrett, E. and Sigston, A., 2022) poorer
medical students face an annual deficit of over 3,000 pounds
and have admitted that current loans insufficient to support
students. Coupled with placements that can reach as long as
40 hours weekly, with restrictions on part time work (if
permitted at all) and student debt, many students are unable
to complete their studies or begin their work with heavy
burnout, contributing to the shortage of native doctors. This
shortage is set to worsen, with 13% intending on emigrating
and 18% leaving doctoring (2022, General Medical Council).
This shows how vital skilled migration has become in
plugging the labour shortage. This is not limited to doctors
either. A report for the Migration Advisory Council (MAC)
(National Institute of economic and Social Research, 2012)
quotes employers about the importance of migration. One
banker argued that the definition of “skilled” was broader
than a specific skill, “it’s not quantifiable in saying they
(employee) have this skill.” such as an employee with
knowledge of Japanese business culture, how vital
employees with international experience are to global
economies like the UK, and a shortage of such employees
who couldn’t be found domestically. Another respondent
stated that some roles, (National Institute of economic and
Social Research, 2012) such as those with knowledge about a
specific technology, were in such short supply and so
important for growth that the only market for them was an
international one. This all demonstrates the importance of
skilled migration in fighting labour shortages, keeping British
firms competitive, and showing their positive impact on the
UK economy.
Despite this, it could also be argued that unskilled migrants

have a detrimental impact on the prosperity of poorer
Britons. According to the Oxford Migration Observatory,
(Vargas-Silva, C. 2023) increases in immigration negatively
impacts wage and employment for the poorest. The best
example of this is work that Britons are not accustomed to
and farmers are not accustomed to hiring them as a result of
immigrant labourers. According to a parliamentary report on
agriculture, (Mc Guinness, T and Grimwood, G. 2017) the
industry is dominated by immigrants, making up 98% of
seasonal workers and 20% of permanent ones. These are
relatively well-paid jobs, with recruiter John Hardman saying
pay can reach 15 pounds hourly, (White, K. 2017) which
could benefit poorer Britons, but, according to agriculture
recruiter, Munday, cultural issues, such as the desire for long
term career prospects incompatible with seasonable work
prevents this. Furthermore, the industry is “geared up” for
migrant labour, negatively impacting Britons, according to
one British worker, Chay Honey (Carroll, L. 2020) with
complaints of sharing caravans with up to four other people,
something established for migrants with no permanent
residence and little time to see loved ones, something
immigrants don’t have in the UK. The report (Mc Guinness, T
and Grimwood, G. 2017) even goes as far to dispense with
the skilled-unskilled dichotomy, replaced by “hard to fill
vacancies” which are “hard to fill from local sources”. Despite
this, (Mc Guinness, T and Grimwood, G. 2017) there was a
shortage of 5,000 workers in 2017, yet British workers are
absent, due to the standards set by immigration. All of this
shows the negative impact of unskilled immigration on the
prosperity of poorer Britons, preventing them from full
economic participation and harming the British economy.
However, it could be argued that the unskilled vs skilled

distinction is not always relevant, and instead floats the idea
of strategically important workers. This idea, defined in the
MAC report, (National Institute of economic and Social
Research, 2012) as those whose roles are vital, but don’t
have a unique skill. An example are seasonal agricultural
workers. Though unskilled, these workers are essential.
According to recruiter John Hardman, (White, K. 2017)
Britons dislike the harsh conditions and demanding work, but
the real reason for this is shown by the result of the farmer’s
appeal for a “land army” during the pandemic. According to
the Alliance of Ethical Labour, (Carroll, L. 2020) 36,000
applications were received, but only 6,000 were interviewed.
The reasons for this were “length of the contract, location of
the farm, and inability to work full-time because of care
responsibilities”. These are big issues because the modern,
industrial economy of the UK is not organised to provide
large scale agricultural labour because of urbanisation,
showing the need for strategic immigrants. Workers struggle
to readily access farms and cannot care for dependents in a
caravan shared with other workers. This shows the
importance of strategic immigration, plugging holes that
Britain isn’t suited to filling herself, demonstrating the
benefits of immigration.
To conclude, this essay has discussed the impacts of different

types of immigrant and argues that immigration is overall a
benefit to the British economy. Immigrants fill holes the
British economy doesn’t fill itself, be it unskilled farm workers
or those with unique technological expertise. Therefore,
unless Britain intends to fill these economic holes itself
immigration is highly beneficial to the British economy.
Bibliography
1. BMA. (2023) NHS Medical Staffing Data Analysis. 2nd March. [Online] [27th March, 2023]
https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/workforce/nhs-medical-
staffing-data-analysis#:~:text=High%20vacancies,all%20medical%20posts%20were%20vacant.
2. Baker, C. (2022) NHS Staff from Overseas: Statistics. Publisher details not available: Commons
Library. [Online] [27th March 2023] https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-
7783/CBP-7783.pdf
3. Suji, T. Vernon, M. Lawson-Smith, E. Sucharitkul, P. Garrett, E. And Sigston, A. (2022) ‘Next

generation of Doctors unable to complete training due to a lack of funding at medical school’ BMJ,
N/A: [Online] [27th March 2023] https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj.o1384
4. General Medical Council. (2022) The State of medical Education and Practice in the UK. Place of
Publication not provided: General Medical Council.
5. National Institute of Economic and Social Research. (2012) Skilled Immigration and strategically
Important Skills in the UK Economy. (February 2012). [Online] [27th March 2023]
https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/290212_151752_0.pdf
7. Oxford Migration Observatory (Year of publication) The Labour Market Effects of Immigration.
[Online] [27th March 2023] https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/the-labour-
market-effects-of-immigration/
8. Mc Guinness, T and Grimwood, G. (2017) Migrant Workers in Agriculture. [Online] [27th February
2023] https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7987/CBP-7987.pdf
11. White, K. (2017) ‘Why are so few Brits prepared to pick fruit.’ The Grocer.
12 Carroll, L. (2020) ‘’Just not true’ we’re too lazy for farm work, say frustrated UK applicants’ The
Guardian.
16. White, K. (2017) ‘Why are so few Brits prepared to pick fruit.’ The Grocer
18. White, K. (2017) ‘Why are so few Brits prepared to pick fruit.’ The Grocer
19. Carroll, L. (2020) ‘British Workers reject fruit picking jobs’ The Guardian
20. Carroll, L. (2020) ‘British Workers reject fruit picking jobs as Romanians flown in’ The Guardian

Does Immigration Have A Positive Impact On The UK Economy?

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Does Immigration Have A Positive Impact On The UK Economy?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Does Immigration have a Positive Impact

The Body of the Argument

Despite this, it could also be argued that unskilled migrants

However, it could be argued that the unskilled vs skilled

To conclude, this essay has discussed the impacts of different

3. Suji, T. Vernon, M. Lawson-Smith, E. Sucharitkul, P. Garrett, E. And Sigston, A. (2022) ‘Next

You might also like