Note to Party leaders: Misleading voters about what can and can't be done on...
Emergency brakes and benefit caps were put on offer by party leaders this week. Both are intended to get across the message that immigration can be got back under control. But aren't there bigger...
View ArticleMigrant Manifesto call 5: End the exploitation of migrant workers
This week, debate about the role of migrant workers - particularly from the European Union - continues. The fifth instalment of our upcoming Migrant Manifesto calls for widespread measures to end the...
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Is the penny finally dropping? Migration is a sign of how normal a society...
The fact that the government failed to reach its target for reducing net migration is bad news for them, but rather good news when considered as an indication of an economy not still mired in deepest...
View ArticleSo we are better off because of migration, but why aren’t the politicians...
The blizzard of commentary that accompanies the annual budget statement also included a memo from the OBR saying “Mr Chancellor, immigration is good for us.” So will he, and other politicians, act on...
View ArticleConservative Government will have an easier time with this Immigration Bill
The last Immigration Bill took longer than anticipated when spanners were constantly thrown into the works by Conservative backbenchers, particularly with a strong focus on new European Union...
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Harwich, Calais, the Mediterranean, Central America and Southeast Asia: The...
There are ever more images of border misery in media news reports and the situation will get worse before it gets better. But the route to progress will require the empowerment of people on the move,...
View ArticleWill plans to cut-back skilled migration strangle hopes for growth in the UK...
According to the Home Office, too many skilled migrants are coming to the UK to support the efforts of British companies to grow the size of the manufacturing sector. But is it really in anyone’s...
View ArticleCampaigners are challenging politicians to do better on migration policies
Politicians have got used to thinking that the public doesn’t want to hear talk about the rights of refugees and migrants. This summer has shown that they might well be wrong with that calculation....
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Mrs May's speech: An ugly intervention that at least clarifies for...
Mrs May set out her stall on immigration during her speech to the Conservative conference. Its dismissal themes have already been challenged, often from surprising quarters. But we need a campaigning...
View ArticleGFMD: Flying the flag for a principled approach to migration policy
For eight years the civil society component of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) has been pressing governments across the world to come up with a more strategic direction for...
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Changing the conversation on free movement
Following the latest migration figures from the Office of National Statistics, which shows that EU migration is primarily responsible for the all-time high immigration levels to the UK, the government...
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Why do migrants suffer exploitation? - Some thoughts on vulnerability and...
Migrants are bad news because they worsen wages and working conditions for the rest of us we are so often told. A new book says we have to pay far more attention to the conditions we impose on those...
View ArticleImmigration Bill: Government side-steps calls for humanitarian balance
During the Commons debate on the Immigration Bill last week, MPs opposing it made strong appeals to the government's sense of compassion, justice and fair-play. The government remained emphatically...
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Happy New Year! And here are five immigration challenges for 2016
Welcome to this first MRN blog of the New Year. We hope the seasonal holidays provided the opportunity for some peace and rest for all of you, and you are back in a campaigning mode to face the...
View ArticleThe EU referendum: What should we say about immigration?
MRN's Policy Officer, Alina Müller, takes a look at how the UK's upcoming EU referendum will be influenced by arguments about immigration. Before the Christmas break I attended several discussions...
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Saving the gains of the Schengen agreement requires European solidarity on...
Much of the news commentary on Europe seems to assume that the Schengen open borders arrangement will vanish in the next few months. That would be a disaster. Saving it will require a reversal of the...
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Q&A: Why the £35k pay threshold is unfair, ineffectual and economically...
Josh Harbord wasn’t sure was respond he’d get to his petition protesting against the regulation requiring migrants to be earning £35,000 before they could settle in the UK. His initiative is set to...
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Shock and horror – British politician might be about to tell the truth about...
People will make their own minds up on how to vote in the forthcoming referendum on UK membership of the EU. But on immigration issues at least it is refreshing to hear that someone is planning to...
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EU referendum: Five important points we intend to lay down with respect to...
Top news this week is obviously the date set for the referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU – 23 June. Weeks of knockabout fun now stretch before us as we witness the strange growth of groupings...
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Scrap free movement? Why the options don’t look so great
Even Brexit supporters seem to agree that the UK will still need immigration in or out the EU. So what options are there for replacing free movement? There has been much talk in recent times about the...
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