The UK is projected to add another 9 million people to its population by 2030, bringing the total to 70 million. And that, says a new report by think tank Forum for the Future[1], will put enormous pressure on the country’s long-term living standards.
The report makes seven recommendations on how to tackle the challenges. They include:
- Planning for the growth to ensure adequate public services, infrastructure, jobs and training exist.
- Trying to change attitudes to consumption.
- Improving family planning to reduce the birth rate.
- Having an objective discussion on immigration, to discuss its benefits and discover ways to reduce the economic, social and environmental drivers that incite people to migrate.
As the think tank points out, population and immigration issues are hot political potatoes. Nevertheless, immigration has returned to the mainstream political agenda for the first time in years, as was evidenced during the recent UK election.
Indeed, the Government has just announced a new measure (the first in a series) to tighten immigration policy, in the form of an English language test for spouses and unmarried couples. This will require all non-European migrants to demonstrate a decent grasp of English before they can receive a visa.
According to Theresa May, the government’s Home Secretary: “The new English requirement for spouses will help promote integration, remove cultural barriers and protect public services.”
For expatriates of all stripes, local language knowledge is certainly a huge part of the integration equation. Without it, you are condemned to remain on the sidelines of society, restricted in your ability to make friends and deal with everything from local shopkeepers to the gas company.
The UK government’s initiative therefore sounds fair enough. I wonder how we would feel though if other countries – say Mexico or the United Arab Emirates – put onerous language restrictions in place on expatriates from English-speaking countries like the United States, Britain and Australia?
[1] Growing Pains: Population and Sustainability in the UK, Forum for the Future, http://www.forumforthefuture.org/files/population_web.pdf
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