Immigration Essay

‘Immigration has a significant impact on UK society’ Assess this view. (15 Marks)
Immigration is the act of someone coming to live in a different country. To a certain extent immigration has had a significant impact on UK society, however some people may argue this view. In my opinion immigration has brought multiple benefits to our society; for example immigration has brought a variety of food, culture, attributable skills and diversity into the UK. In the 2 years after the 2001 census the number of people of Asian, Black or Chinese ethnicity in England increased by 370,000. 283,000 of this increase was attributable to international migration. This conveys that the majority of immigrants that have come to England have an impact on UK society.
Immigration has brought a variety of different foods into the UK. This gives Britain an insight into other cultures and experiences. For example, without immigration the UK would be unaware of how and what Indian’s eat. Because of immigration Britain is now able to share the same experiences with them and are able to learn from their culture. Likewise, they are able to learn the British culture and what we eat. However, others may argue that the introduction of new foods from other cultures has resulted in the UK losing its ‘Englishness’ and traditional culture. For example, now the introduction of foods from different cultures has arisen, British food such as fish and chips may now be in less demand.
In addition, immigration has brought a range of attributable skills to the UK society. Immigration and ties with other countries have resulted in a dynamic economy with more jobs, access to crucial skills and new ideas, better public services and a richer cultural life. A recent example of migration into the UK as a result of skills and labour shortage has occurred in the last ten years. A shortage of nurses and doctors in the NHS has been in part with the Government encouraging doctors and nurses from other countries to move to Britain and work in the health service. Therefore many nurses and doctors from Spain and other EU countries are now working in the UK National Health Service. This is having a significant impact on the UK society because without this help society may not be able to run in an effective manner. In the 1940’s the Empire Windrush arrived in London, delivering hundreds of men from the West Indies. Many had returned to rejoin the RAF. Others had been encouraged by adverts for work. This shows how many people from different cultures value the UK and were willing to leave their homes to come and have a significant impact on the UK and its wellbeing after the war. On the other hand, people may argue that immigration is the reason that the UK’s unemployment rate is up and that immigrants have only moved into this country to receive better health care and better welfare. However, the immigrants that have moved to this country and have found work have been as skilled as or more skilled than those of the UK.
Immigration has also had a massive impact on how diverse the UK has become. According to the 2011 census England and Wales has become more ethnically diverse with rising numbers of people identifying with minority ethnic groups. Despite the White ethnic group decreasing in size, it is still the majority ethnic group that people identify with. White was the major ethnic group at 48.2 million in 2011 (86.0 per cent). Within this ethnic group, White British* was the largest group at 45.1 million (80.5 per cent). With this range of diversity now in the UK we are able to learn a variety of different things from different cultures. Due to all of this diversity, Britain is now able to be known as a multicultural society. A multicultural society is a society where a range of different cultures and ethnic groups are able to live together as one. In London alone, there are now 42 groups of over 10,000 people with recent foreign antecedents. There are also nearly a million people in Britain who have defined themselves as of mixed race.
In conclusion, I believe that immigration has had a significant impact on the UK due to it developing our understanding of various cultures. Immigration has also brought benefits to the UK such as different food, skills and a diverse society.