Revolutions, wars and political instability in some parts of the world resulted in millions of people being killed, tortured and displaced. Democratic countries, mainly Western Europe and Northern America, proudly became safe heavens for those fleeing prosecution as human rights movements and institutions became ever more active. The political changes of the last decade of the 20th century, namely the collapse of the Soviet Union, which accelerated the formation of the European Union had a significant effect on the immigration policies of the Western European countries, especially the UK.

Until the beginning of the 21st century, migration to the United Kingdom was in line with the economic interests of the country. According to Home Office statistics, the UK needs 400,000 new workforce every year. The arrival of asylum seekers gave aid to this need significantly. Meanwhile the UK government arrogantly publicised the generosity and fairness of their immigration system. How human rights were respected and refugees protected by the government, whilst their hidden agenda (or not so hidden as it may seem) was in fact the economic benefits.

This has been crystallised in the during their campaign in the run up to the 2005 election. According to the Conservative’s immigration policy, the government would consider a ‘ceiling’ for the number of asylum seekers allowed in the UK for every given year.

The truth is that the phenomenon of asylum seeking is no longer in line with the economic interests of the UK. The expansion of the European union means that the UK no longer needs to rely on the ‘cheap labour’ arriving from Asia and the Far East. These jobs are now being adequately fulfilled by people from Eastern European countries, This ‘arrangement’ will continue to be sufficient for Britain until the middle of the next decade. Regrettable as it may seem, it is the only justified explanation for the tough stance and radical policies that dominate immigration in the UK today.

A glance at the further proves that the Immigration crisis in the UK, as its been described by the British government, is simply a fantasy. Currently the developing world cares for about 75% of the world’s refugees, Europe receives less than 5% and the UK less than 0.04%.

Whilst the British public have been convinced (by the government) that the economic migrants are taking over the country, a simple analysis of statistics proves otherwise. In 2003, which was probably the most unstable year in the history of Iraq (as a result of the allied invasion), the number of Iraqi nationals applying for asylum fell by over 60%. At the same time, the number of asylum applications from Iran and China which were, in terms of economy and security, in a far better situation than Iraq jumped to the top of the table.

These findings simply prove that on the contrary to what the Home Office claim, the main reason for seeking asylum is the breach of human rights of individuals by brutal regimes. In other words, what forces people to seek asylum, is the genuine fear of suppressive and tyrannical governments, not the desire to economically better themselves as is so often mistakenly perceived.

Links

 http://www.berghahnbooks.com/titles/Pirouet.htm

 http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/publications/books/The_UseandAbuse_ofPolitical_Asylum.htm

 http://www.forcedmigration.org/browse/thematic/refugeeweek.htm