Europe's Immigration Debate 'Stifled by Political Correctness'

Migrants in Britain actually contribute more to the UK economy than they take out, but the public debate about the merits of immigration is limited by political correctness, political analyst Dr. Marcus Papadopoulos told Radio Sputnik.

According to a new survey for Sputnik Polls, nearly half of Europeans believe that migrants cause native residents to lose jobs.

The poll of more than 3,000 respondents in France, Germany and the UK was conducted in April by French opinion and marketing research company Ifop and UK polling agency Populus. 

​It found that 47 percent of people in the UK, 50 percent in France, and 36 percent of Germans agree that immigrants take jobs from local people.

Dr. Marcus Papadopoulos, political analyst, publisher and editor of the UK's Politics First magazine, told Radio Sputnik that public discussion about immigration "has been stifled because of political correctness," and that ordinary people are also misled about the root causes of immigration.

"The refugee crisis in Europe, let's be clear, has been caused by Western interference in Libya and in Syria. That's not a reality that has been told to ordinary people in Europe, because ordinary people in Europe are subjected to mainstream media."

Papadopoulos said that in spite of opinion polls suggesting that immigrants take jobs from local people, in reality migrant workers often do work that native residents are unwilling to take, and play a key role in the economy and public services.

"In Britain most of them are either in hospitals, for example cleaners, auxiliary nurses. Or, they're in very low-skilled, low-paid jobs, for example office cleaners, road cleaners."

"In Britain there is a great need for people to do those sorts of jobs, and a lot of British people feel that those jobs are well below them. They don't want to do them, but someone has to."

"Most British nurses will tell you that the National Health Service would be in real trouble if it wasn't for migrants working in hospitals, because the hospitals probably wouldn't be able to function without them."

Papadopoulos cited a recent study by the London School of Economics, which reported that migrants actually pay more in to the UK economy than they take out, in contrast to the claims of anti-immigration campaigners.

"They are contributing more money to the UK economy, than they are actually claiming on benefits," Papadopoulo said.