LSE: Immigrant amnesty "could add up to £3bn to the economy"

BNP and UKIP anti-immigration policies are once again shown to be the poisonous, pointless and above all incorrect bullshit that they are in a new report from the world-respected London School of Economics, which states that were an amnesty for long-term illegal immigrants living in the United Kingdom to be made the country would benefit to the tune of a rather useful £3 billion.

The report, commissioned by London Mayor Boris Johnson, says that the 618,000 illegal immigrants would facilitate an increase in spending on essential services such as housing and welfare. Mr. Johnson believes that the report proves that immigrants are "far from a financial burden," a view shared by many experts who argue that immigration could be a solution to a nation's economic troubles rather than a contributing factor.

All these bloody foreigners, eh? Coming over here, working hard, keeping our hospitals running, paying their taxes and National Health Service contributions...

According to the LSE, if plans to introduce such an amnesty went ahead, around 67% of illegal immigrants would be eligible to remain in Britain. Their new legal status would then allow them to benefit from better-paid and legally protected employment, as opposed to the often poorly-paid cash-in-hand jobs many of them are now performing. This would have one major advantage for the rest of us too - they'd then be paying taxes, boosting the amount of money available for healthcare, housing, civic improvements and so on. Migration to the UK would not be increased as a result, the study says, despite Home Office Minister Phil Woolas' statements that an amnesty would lead to an increase in people trafficking and that it "would create a significant pull factor to the UK."

It's not just UKIP and the extremists who are anti-immigration - the mainstream parties are increasingly jumping on the bandwagon too: The Home Office maintains that there will be no amnesty, meaning that the current practice of deporting all illegal immigrants caught within our borders will continue.

According to the National Audit, deporting all such individuals would cost £4.7 billion. At present, it costs £11,000 to deport one person alone - so to deport all 618,000 would cost the UK £6,798,000,000 = 618,000 x 11,000, just under £6.8 billion. £4.7 billion (to deport them) would be a charge of £77 for each British man, woman and child. £3 billion (if an amnesty went ahead) works out at almost fifty quid extra each, even if you add all the immigrants onto the UK's population of around 61 million. If you assume it's £11,000 per immigrant we could save and then add the £3 billion, every UK citizen - including immigrants - would be better off by £110.37p better off.

It's so nice to hear Boris talking sense - and remarkable, too, considering he's talking about a subject on which most people simply spout at best second-hand, ill-thought out tabloid reactionism and at worst dangerous racist bullshit.

It seems to me that, when asked, half the British public seem to want to emigrate to either Canada, the USA or Australia these days - all of which would be undeveloped wastelands were it not for immigration (yes, we know the natives of those lands would have better off and the noble savage is a fine example to us all so don't bother e-mailing us because we'll only ignore you). Are people so really unwilling to think for themselves that they'll believe any old crap shoved down their throats, even when endless contrary evidence is staring them right in the face?