Economic migrants
David Cameron announced that the government would make it harder for migrants to claim benefits, NHS treatment and social housing. Do migrants make a positive contribution to the public coffers?
— A Home Office study using data from 1999-2000 concluded that migrants paid £31.2bn in taxes and used £28.8bn in public services, for a net contribution of £2.5bn
— A paper in the Oxford Review of Economic Policy, using data from 2003/04, found migrants contributed a net £600m
— The Institute of Public Policy Research, using data from 2003/04, concluded that migrants cost the country a net £400m
— The pressure group MigrationWatch, also using data from 2003/04, concluded that migrants cost the taxpayer a net £5bn
— The House of Lords select committee on economic affairs, in 2008, found migrants had a ‘small’ overall effect, which official data was not good enough to quantify.
Lands of plenty
Boris Berezovsky’s death drew attention to wealthy Russians.

Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in