Press Release: UKIP's crackdown on unskilled immigrants goes against all economic sense

For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact Head of Communications Kate Andrews: kate@adamsmith.org | 07584 778207 Commenting on UKIP's pledge to ban unskilled immigration to the UK for five years, Director of the Adam Smith Institute Dr Eamonn Butler said:

UKIP’s crackdown on unskilled immigrants breaks with evidence, common sense, and moral decency. Low-skilled immigration does not affect the number of jobs available to natives; in fact, immigrants demand goods and services, which means new jobs are created to supply those services and community needs.

Immigrants prop up the welfare state, paying more in taxes overall than they consume in services or benefits. The best evidence suggests that low-skilled immigration only has a small and temporary negative effect on native wages, and this effect does not compare to the wealth they generate for the UK.

UKIP’s pledge to ban unskilled immigration for five years goes against all economic sense. It is only supported by a dogma that is both intellectually and morally bankrupt.

Notes to editors:

For more information, read ASI briefing paper "The Ties that Bind: Analysing the relationship between social cohesion, diversity, and immigration", which finds no conclusive evidence that diversity within UK communities creates a negative impact on social cohesion.

The Adam Smith Institute is an free market, libertarian think tank based in London. It advocates classically liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.