Polish baby boom in UK

[WendyWeber]

blimey - I know they are a valuable addition to our economy, and work v hard, but from 1300 in 2003 to 13000 in 2007; that would be 130,000 in 2011 and 1,300,000 in 2015 if they carry on at the same rate

Well said, spokette

not one eastern european i know,about 6 has, had medical treatment here, they all return home as they are too scared of catching mrsa.
2 have returned to give birth in slovakia rather than north london.

Also isn't it the case that there has recently been reduced spending on maternity services, and some services have actually been cut? Is this not likely to be draining an already stretched service more than Polish babies?

Perhaps if some more of the taxpayers money was to be be spent on education/health, and not on funding war in Iraq the media wouldn't be so quick to start blaming a 'Polish baby boom' for overstretched services.

The problem isn't immigration or the nationalities of the immigrants. The problem is the sheer numbers coming into the country which current housing, schools, hostpitals etc cannot cope with. I don't think that the average Brit is xenophobic and spiteful, just worried about what all of this unrestricted immigration means for the future.

Also, countries like Canada and Australia are extremely strict about who is allowed in and will deny entry if they think the applicant will be a drain on resources.

i dont have problem with anyone coming here to work etc but do have problem with government not investing in essential social services that are needed to sustain such an influx..

...if it is such a benefit to the economy of this country why is not some of that generated tax not given to the overburden hospitals, schools, creation of english language schools, even a fecking leaflet on entry explaining simply driving laws and generally accepted customs...

its wrong imho to target the people coming here it detracts from the real problem imo which is the lack of aforethought and planning on how this can work successfully for everyone,immigrants and indigenous population...

its a license for gangmasters, rogue landlords et al to print money really
and creates huge discord in populace..

Callisto
"The problem is the sheer numbers coming into the country which current housing, schools, hostpitals etc cannot cope with."

How many people emigrated last year?

How many of these sheer numbers are actually here for seasonal work or short term employment?

How many of these sheer numbers are actually are drain on resources such as housing, schools, hospitals?

I bet most of them do not use the NHS, many do not have off-spring, most of them are in privately rented accommodation, most of them do not claim benefits and most of them work.

I also bet many of them are the ones that keep our precious resources like the NHS going because if we had to rely on the malingering Brits who won't get out of bed other than to sign on, these precious resources would collapse overnight.

Well at least when the babies get a little older they'll be able to be translators - lessen the drain on the services!

i work at an airport and you would be suprised at numbers of eastern eu coming in and funnily enough barely anyone going back out.

Mmm, and do you count the number of Western EU, Americans, Australians, New Zealanders, etc coming in too?

Dont handle them flights,

What we do find irritating at work is how our employer has taken on east eu who dont speak english or read english. That puts saftey at risk. The other day someone walked behind a aircraft my husband was pushing back! luckily the engines had not started to full capacity.

Obviously our employer would prefer to take on part timers cheaper and therefore overtime is hitting a all time low.

Just to add quickly where i live there are no west eu, americans etc whatsoever. Just lots of polish, I think that will be due to living nr airport

Yes typical of the airline industry to put profit first, rather than the safety of employers and passengers. That says more about the greed of these companies than Polish people trying to make a living.

Alot of things at my place of work come down to the profit. Very infuriating. However am I right in thinking that imigratants where english is not their first language have to learn it? Or am I getting confused???

I wouldn't say they have to learn English, but if they want to integrate and fully participate in British society it is definitely advisable.(for the good of everybody)

Large companies like airlines exploiting impoverished people who are desperate to work - are we surprised? It's so sad and depressing.

I got on a bus a month ago and asked the driver how much the fare was and guess what, he could not speak English! Whats the point of that?
I do think employers are being greedy and just going for the bottom line.
I also know of an electrician in London who is losing alot of business to polish/eastern european electricians and he is losing business all over the place. He cannot compete on price as they do not have the same mortgage or overheads that he has.
The Govt have not thought about it and it is stoking up huge resentment among the working class who are the ones who are under economic and social pressure from immigration. They have the most to lose as some of them are already by losing jobs and facing bankruptcy.
Interestingly I saw a plumber yesterday and asked him whether he was being affected by immigration and he said no as in his view there were no plumbers coming over only electricians, builders and painters and decorators. On being asked why he believed that the plumbing systems were different in the UK. By the way the plumber was from Kosovo.

the plumbing systems are indeed different in the UK. They are rubbish. My Eastern European dh can never understand why if someone turns a cold tap on in the kitchen and you are having shower, you get scalded. We know many Eastern Europeans and they all go home for dental and medical treatment, they think they get a better treatment over there. My dh still refuses to go to a UK dentist.

If there had been MN in the times when Jamaicans were coming over, and then Asians, I think you would have found a very similar discussion, with people complaining about them taking jobs, overburdening services and not speaking English. No one would dare say that now because people are more aware of racism. But if the foreigners are white it seems to be ok.
Of course there are issues to be addressed. Greedy companies, strains on the NHS because of inadequate funding, but not exactly the Poles' fault. And they are doing a great job of working hard and boosting the economy.

I'm playing devils advocate here Ruty but what do you propose to protect those people who livelhoods are affected by cheap labour from abroad. Do we just leave it to the free market? My worry is that leaving things as they are you are stoking things up for the parties like the BNP who play on peoples fears. It can be argued that the level of immigration is on a much larger scale in the last two/three years from eastern europe than has been previously from the West Indies/Asia etc, the relaxing of the border controls etc would have encouraged that.

Mmm, yes. Thing is, this is no surprise really to people who work in many of the affected sectors (eg Education, Health).

Where I am, a large part of the problem is that the powers that be seem to be forging ahead with cuts that were planned because of the drop in the birth rate that "everyone" was expecting - except that I know from day one they were being told that the figures they were extrapolating were likely to be altered by other factors. But they went ahead. Soon it'll be too late to backtrack and we're in trouble.

oh yeah, the govt cocks up on maternity and education funding planning, but dont worry, there a bunch of new people about, we'll blame them.

people ought to know better.

spokette, well done for spelling out reality so eloquently.

BigGitMama a 'free market' is great when it suits us and not so great when it doesn't. But that is the nature of the beast. Capitalism works on the basis that some people get very rich and many stay very poor. It works on the basis that labour is done for the cheapest price possible. We like to think we are 'free' because we have vast access to credit and able to buy a plasma screen when we want. But it is a bit of an illusion. This is the way Capitalism works. That is not the fault of immigrants. And you tell me who is going to work in the care home of my deceased mother, to look after her and others like her, if not immigrants? Because I assure you English people generally feel wiping old people's backsides is beneath them. Yes, I'd love to see pay increased for these kind of difficult and unattractive jobs, but then campaign for a political revolution, not a close down on immigrants.

if your friend is being outpriced, he has to reduce his prices. why do you think the competitors dont have overheads? are they doing it for fun perhaps?

BigGitmahnamahnaDad good post.(dh is a painter and decorator so the knock on affect has affected us.) still never mind we have benefits to keep us going.