THE SMITH INSTITUTE
MIGRATION AND THE ECONOMY 

What is given below is a very brief summary of the points made by the speakers at these events: in every case the speeches were much richer and more extensive than we have space for in this newsletter. There were also many significant points raised by members of the audience in the subsequent discussion, which we have not picked up here. A collection of essays was specially commissioned to accompany this series. Please follow the link to download Perspectives on Migration . For a full report of the seminars, please see the publication when it goes up on the website.

Seminar 1: Adding Value

The first seminar in this series, in association with the Barrow Cadbury Trust, opened with Irwin Stelzer (The Hudson Institute) who set out ten measures to guide future immigration policy – including the need to end the distinction between bogus and legitimate asylum seekers and denying welfare benefits to immigrants.  Sarah Spencer (Centre for Migration, Policy & Society, Oxford University) responded by arguing for policymakers to ‘avoid reducing the migration debate to one solely of economics’ and to increase investment in initiatives which aid integration.  

Seminar 2: Barriers to Greater Progress

Rt. Hon. Paul Boateng MP (Chief Secretary, HM Treasury) opened this seminar by commenting on the gap between the rhetoric surrounding migration and the reality of the huge economic contribution made by migrants to the UK. Migrants account for some 10-15% of our projected growth in GDP and contributed £240 million to the economy between May and December 2004. He stressed that the appearance of strictness and fairness is a crucial aspect of improving community relations and must be accompanied by steps to confront racism and discrimination in the labour market. Sukhvinder Stubbs (Director, Barrow Cadbury Trust) asserted the need to include the first hand experiences of migrants themselves in the development of migration policy. She argued for a concentration on the ‘pathways’ that migrants follow as the come into contact with British Society and the British Economy, understanding how these various routes are experienced by those who are migrating will be essential for ensuring fairness and acceptability of the system, both for migrants and for society as a whole.

Seminar 3: Taking it all forward

Following an introduction from Des Browne MP (Minister of State, Home Office), This seminar took the form of a panel debate with Barbara Roche MP, Sir Samuel Brittan (Financial Times), Des Browne MP, Professor Nigel Harris ( UCL), Jonathan Portes (DWP), Richard Stone (Stone Ashdown Trust), and Sukhvinder Stubbs (Barrow Cadbury Trust). The lively debate ranged a cross a wide area of issues from the perceived problems of congestion resulting from immigration, to the value of denying the right to work to Asylum Seekers.

Smith Institute March 2005