UK Immigration News

The UK government is considering changes to the tax system which could cost low-paid migrant workers thousands of pounds a year. The changes could mean that some will find it less attractive to come and work in the UK.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, is said to be planning to prevent temporary and seasonal workers from claiming their tax-free personal allowance. This would mean that they would pay tax on all their income.

The latest figures from the UK's Office for National Statistics show that the number of foreign-born workers in the UK labour force grew by 170,000 between April and June this year. The number of UK-born workers rose by only 40,000.

The figures were released on 13th August. They show that the total number of workers in the UK's work force climbed to 30,537,000 from 30,431,000 between April and June. Of these, 25,813,000 were British-born and 4,724,000 were foreign-born.

The UK's prime minister, David Cameron, has announced changes to the UK's immigration system which, he says, are 'a vital part' of his 'long-term economic plan to secure a better future for Britain'.

Mr Cameron wrote a piece in The Daily Telegraph, a UK newspaper, on 28th July 2014, in which he explained to readers the changes to the immigration system already made in the four years since he became prime minister and also provided some details of changes that will be introduced over the next six months.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, has been criticised by civil rights groups and political opponents for using a raid by immigration officers on a house containing suspected illegal immigrants as a photo opportunity.

Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty, said that the decision to pose for the photo shoot was in 'bad taste' and said that it was 'constitutionally inappropriate for elected politicians to intervene in law enforcement'.

James Brokenshire, the UK's immigration minister, has announced two improvements to the UK's visa system in China. Mr Brokenshire says that the changes should make it easier for Chinese applicants to apply for and obtain UK visas.

The changes are

Ken Clarke, one of the "towering figures" of UK politics over the last forty years has warned his party, the Conservatives, not to become 'hysterical' over the issues of immigration and the UK's membership of the European Union. If they do, he warns, they will lose popularity.

In an interview given shortly after resigning from the Coalition government, Mr Clarke warned Prime Minister David Cameron that attempting to look tough on immigration could alienate voters and cost the Conservative Party seats at the next election to be held in May 2015.