David Cameron’s ‘Huge Mistake’. Closing of the United Kingdom Labour Market for Eastern European Immigrants from Polish and British Perspective

  • Author: Bartłomiej H. Toszek
  • Institution: University of Szczecin
  • Year of publication: 2014
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 122-138
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/rop201408
  • PDF: rop/2014/rop201408.pdf

Eastern European immigrants coming to the UK since 2004 (in 2/3 from Poland) by their amount of work have concurred to serious growth of the GDP. But simultaneously they have been burden for British welfare system (among others by taking benefits for family members living outside the UK) and taking job even for minimum salary what have caused growth of native British unemployment. In this situation Conservative-Liberal Government leading by David Cameron have decided to limit an access to the UK labour market by language knowledge tests and tightening social benefits policy to job seekers. With informal support of main opposition parties (i.e. the Labour Party and the UKIP) D. Cameron have taken risky game showing he has been able to fight for his nation’s interests even in spite of huge protests of Polish and other Eastern European countries politicians and against the European Parliament resolution of 16 January 2014. But when turning out into a defender of Britons’ rights he also has showed that there have been deep divisions between “old” and “new” Europe still after 10 years of the EU’s biggest enlargement in 2004.

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