Land Of Milk And Honey Turns Sour

This weekend Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is likely to announce that the number of work permits issued to foreigners is likely to be cut. The new points system, based on the Australian system, will be used to 'raise the bar' for skilled migrants coming to this country. The Home Secretary has been forced to act after the growing row over the impact foreign workers have had on the UK. This impact was brought into focus recently by the opposition to the Sicilian firm who won the Lindsey refinery contract in Lincolnshire. More than 150,000 work permits were issued last year and it is estimated that 3.8 million foreign workers are now employed in Britain. Strange, isn't it, that the move comes when Polish workers who flocked to Britain after their country joined the EU in 2004 are now moving back home. As the economic recession deepens, building trade contracts decline, and the pound plummets against the zloty, many of the 700,000 Polish workers are packing up their trowels and spanners and returning to Poland. Also, many educated middle-class Poles have decided that Britain is no longer the land of opportunity and are joining the exodus. The Polish economy has performed well since joining the EU, helped by billions of pounds of grants for roads and big infrastructure projects. Unemployment has fallen to 6% and many hotel and catering staff, and construction workers, are returning to help Poland prepare to host the European football championships in 2012. The exodus is likely to continue, while the number of new Polish arrivals in the UK has slowed to a trickle. Salaries in Poland have risen by up to 15% in the last year and company bosses are contacting Polish workers in the UK and offering them well paid jobs. Against this background it looks as if economic forces are achieving naturally what Jacqui Smith is trying to do through legislation. Has Britain, once regarded as the land of milk and honey, turned sour?