Editorial: Immigration

None of the Spanish political parties standing for election in May have any policies calling for a limit on immigration even though Spain has a far higher level of non-Spaniards than Britain. Acording to official figures non-Spaniards make up about 11 percent of the Spanish population compared to 7.7 percent in Britain. And the figure is even higher in Germany and Ireland. Spain clearly recognises that immigrants are good for the economy and the country as a whole. So why has immigration and immigrants become such a key issue in Britain? Well if you listen to the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) immigrants are changing the very nature of Britain. Now UKIP, thankfully, appear to be in decline and hopefully they will realise that their anti-immigration stance is a mistake. No-one wants uncontrolled immigration but UKIP must also agree that immigants play a key role in Britain´s economy. As an immigrant myself I find UKIP´s stance rather unsavoury. I have had no problems coming to live and work in Spain and Ibelieve that this is one of the major advantages of the European Union. The free movement of labour allows us to live and work in any member state. When I first starting working in Spain you needed a work permit and the paperwork involved was enormous. But thankfully times have changed. UKIP should look and see how many Britons work and live abroad before they embark on ill-conceived legislation.