2.4 Poland UK

Question 1

Why and how do migrants go to UK

Answer 1

700k migrants go to urban areas to assimilate into the country.

• Mainly come for jobs or to study
• EU allowed free movement so countries caan come and live in UK. Many moved to UK to get jobs paying higher wages than at home.
• Immigrants paid taxes and helped economy grow so was encouraged - more moved in than expected at 700,000 moved in since 2004 and when other eastern European countries joined the EU laws were changes
• Tend to clutter in groups in big cities, creating ghettos and smaller towns
• In Poland, there is 19% unemployment, low wages and housing shortages due to overcrowing.
• In the UK, there was easy migration, plenty of high wage low skill jobs such as plumbing
• Exchange rate also stronger

Question 2

What were the positive impacts on Poland?

Answer 2

Positives: Better role of women

• Easier to get jobs and unemployment eased
• Remittances sent back home - £4bn a year
• Reduced pressure on services, jobs and houses
• Migrants return richer trained and with better skills
• Improved links to UK

Question 3

Negative Poland

Answer 3

Ageing population

• High divorce rate
• Strains on families
• increased dependency
• Family division
• Reduced tax revenues
• Migrants exploited
• Shortage of labour at home
• Economic decline and brain drain
• 7 in 1000 poles moved, shortage of work
• Infrastructural decline

Question 4

Positive UK

Answer 4

• More culture such as food
• Offsets ageing population
• Fills labour shortages with young skilled work contributing billions to the economy
• Eased pension burden
• Tax
• Seasonal so not permanent
• Peterborough have 7k in farming, tend to be more reliable and hardworking
• Improved links to Poland
• Economic growth

Question 5

Negative UK

Answer 5

Racism and prejudice

• Hard for smaller settlements like Peterborough
• Pressure on education and housing
• Cultural changes and social unrest
• Crime rates
• Fewer English speaking in schools
• overcrowding
• Wage depression
• Take up government spending
• Weakened pound
• Political parties seen support from poles
• Lack of investment for migrants
• Migrants claim citizenship alter vote
• Resentment for taking jobs
• Immigration laws stricter