The National Conversation continued its tour around the country, visiting Redbridge, an ethnically diverse outer London borough. Redbridge’s houses and streets tell a story about integration in Britain. It is a place where generations of immigrants settled, on their journey from the East End to the Home Counties. Many Redbridge residents have Irish ancestors and Read more about Redbridge: is London its very own ‘crowded island’?[…]
Shetland is no stranger to immigration and emigration. Since pre-historic times it has seen the arrival of different peoples. Following Viking colonisation, Shetland was a Norwegian rule until the 15th century after which it was annexed by Scotland. The Scandinavian influence can still be seen in Shetland’s words, accents and faces. Centuries on, work continues Read more about Lerwick: Migration is a topical issue in rural areas like Shetland[…]
Paisley, Renfrewshire just outside of Glasgow, is a place where the 19th century textile boom has left its mark, with grand sandstone buildings and monuments on almost every corner. But the decline of industry has taken away wealth from the town and many people now commute into Glasgow for work. While median wages are above Read more about Paisley: How does political and religious leadership influence attitudes to immigration[…]
Until recently Middlesbrough’s population was falling, due to the loss of its traditional industries. Alongside this trend came falling house prices and empty properties, something that has made this town attractive to G4S, which manages asylum support on behalf of the Home Office. For a while, Middlesbrough had the highest proportion of dispersed asylum-seekers per Read more about Middlesbrough: How do people living in dispersal areas feel about asylum issues?[…]
Durham is a historic town in the North East with a transient population. Home to the prestigious Durham University the population of around 50,000 increases by an additional 17,000 students during term time, of which 17% come from abroad. In relation to immigration policy, international students have been a well contested group. Groups like Universities Read more about Durham: Do international students count as migrants?[…]
Contribution and control were the clear priorities of the citizens’ panel in Leicester, the 24th location for the National Conversation on Immigration, on what the government could do to increase public confidence in immigration after Britain leaves the European Union. The emphasis on contribution reflected both the recognition that Leicester has benefitted from immigration in Read more about Leicester: a city that understands migration to be part of its past and present[…]
The National Conversation made its second visit to Cambridgeshire last week. Last February, we visited the Fens, and held a stakeholder meeting and citizens’ panel in the town of March, which has seen rapid migration from the EU. Our second visit was to Cambridge, an ancient seat of European learning. With 72% of voters in Read more about Cambridge: Housing is a basic need, whatever our nationality[…]
We often talk about whether or not we have talked enough about immigration in Britain. But Wolverhampton, the 22nd location for the National Conversation on Immigration, has definitely been talking about immigration for at least half a century, since it was the city’s MP Enoch Powell who made the most infamously famous contribution to the Read more about Wolverhampton: Generational change and historical legacies of migration[…]
Shrewsbury was the 21st stop for the National Conversation, an ancient Shropshire town on the Welsh border. As with any place we visit, we hold a meeting with stakeholders before our citizens’ panel. Each meeting sees a different mix of people working in fields that will be impacted most by changes to future immigration policy. Read more about Shrewsbury: Are we more divided on immigration than we think?[…]
This week we travelled to Nottingham to hear from our 16 to 22 year old panel, to see whether young people speak differently about immigration. The panel was representative of their age group: most of the panel were working and relatively few were university students. The group saw that the benefits of immigration outweighed any Read more about Nottingham: Do young people see migration differently?[…]