TMP Online

Resident TMP columnist, Lola Adesioye, argues that we must move away from lumping all migrants into one big immigration pile - doing so is what makes it easier for politicians to manipulate the public for political point scoring. 

Once again immigration is back on the political menu. Unfortunately, the government shot itself in the foot this week. It is deeply embarrassing that senior government officials should publicly release incorrect information on any topic, but even more so on anything related to immigration which is currently such hot political property in the UK. No party – especially not the one in power – can afford to lose credibility, or show that it does not know what it is talking about when it comes to that issue.

Underestimating the number of foreign nationals working in the UK by 300,000 was an amateur move, particularly in a climate in which there are growing public concerns over immigration. However, let’s face it: the numbers themselves mean very little. 300,000 is a tiny proportion (approximately 1%) of the UK’s workforce. Plus all of these people have been working, and thus contributing, to the UK’s economy. Unfortunately, by undermining itself on a key issue the government fed right into the hands of newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Sun who were keen to sensationalize the matter, and handed the Conservatives a fantastic opportunity to score political points.

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