Migration / Globalisation
- Migration – the movement of people from one place to another.
- Immigration – movement into one area or country.
- Emigration – movement out of an area or country.
- Net migration – difference between the numbers immigrating and the numbers emigrating.
- Push factors – may encourage someone to leave their home country. E.g. escaping poverty or famine, lack of jobs, effects of war.
- Pull factors – attract them to a new country. E.g. better opportunities for jobs, study, higher standard of living, better healthcare and education, more political and religious freedom.
1900 – 2000: During the 1930s and up to 1945, several hundred thousand refugees fled to Britain from Europe to escape the effects of Nazi occupation and persecution.
During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s widespread immigration of British subjects from former British colonies occurred. This included people from the Caribbean, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Uganda and Kenya. Much of this immigration was encouraged by the British government to fill labour shortages in unskilled and poorly paid occupations in Britain.
During the 1980s and 1990s there was a net gain in population through migration, this was at a relatively low level in the majority of years, though it rose sharply after 1997.
2000 onwards: Net migration reached record peaks between 2004 and 2007 as a result of immigration of citizens from the countries that joined the EU in 2004 including Czech Republic, Estonia, and Poland. Although some EU countries faced restrictions on their access to the UK labour market, there was a significant increase in immigration from countries such as Romania and Bulgaria.
In 2013, around 80% of immigrants came from the following groups:
- 15% were British Citizens returning home.
- 40% were EU citizens.
- 15% were citizens of the New Commonwealth, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India amongst others.
- 10% were citizens of the Old Commonwealth which comprises Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South African.
Inside the EU
- Every European citizen has the right to work and live anywhere in the EU, under the same conditions as the nationals of the host state.
- This has created a significant political issue since 2011. For example, there is growing distrust of immigrants, which has led to the creation and growing popularity of anti-immigrant political parties in European countries such as UKIP in the UK.
- The levels of immigration and integration into British culture of immigrant communities who may have different values.
- Weakening of the national culture and identity.
- Undercutting of wages through immigration from the poorer EU countries.
- Migrant workers make key contributions to the economy (taking jobs unwanted by British workers).
- They also provide key support for the provision of health and social care. For example, the NHS would not be properly staffed without migrant workers.
- The UK has strict immigration controls to restrict immigration from outside the EU including non-British family members of British citizens.
- There is now a minimum income requirements of £18,600 a year (this is below the minimum wage) before British citizens can bring their non-British partners and children.
- Globalisation – the growing interconnectedness or countries or nation states with the spread of the same culture, consumer goods and economic interests across the globe.
- More Migration - including immigration from the EU to the UK and more emigration by British people who go to live in other EU countries.
- More Undocumented Workers - These are workers who come and stay in the UK illegally (illegal immigrants). These people can often be exploited by UK employers or people traffickers.
- More Asylum Seekers – People often seek asylum in the UK to escape persecution, torture or potential death in their countries of origin. The media have portrayed this group of people as undeserving scroungers but in reality they only make up around 5% of migrants, are banned from working and have almost no government support. Furthermore many are held in immigration detention centres that have been likened to prisons.
- Greater Cultural Diversity – In family life, this can mean growing numbers of couples from different cultural backgrounds.
- Changing Families – Migrants from Eastern Europe have larger families, this has contributed to a ‘baby boom’ in the 2000s. Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (2014) talk of ‘world families’ and ‘distant love’ in which relationships are conducted between people living in different countries. Chambers (2012) points to a growing trade in surrogate motherhood and mail-order brides.