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POLISH MIGRATION TO THE UK
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Flags courtesy of ITA's Flags of All Countries used with permission.
Updated February 2007
Polish migrants make up the large majority of the recent incomers to the UK.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/geog/population/case_poland.shtml - a useful page from a useful Scottish resource
There has been a suggestion that there should be more POLISH GEOGRAPHY included as part of the curriculum - perhaps the new KS3 will provide that opportunity.
There have been lots of apocryphal stories of Polish plumbers and builders taking over. However, a recent survey quoted in an article in the Times suggested that most employers still employed people from the UK given the preference.
Poland joined the EU in 2004, and since then an estimated 500 000+ Poles have arrived in the UK.
On a recent trip to Dublin, the large number of Poles was a feature of the city. A lot of POLSKI SKLEP shops and Polish newspapers on sale. This has apparently occurred in the last 10 years.
Increasing church attendances in Peterborough due to the Catholic faith followed by many Poles. Has meant more services, some in Polish.
Also supermarkets stocking Polish Christmas favourites such as carp.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/immigration/story/0,15729,1433412,00.html - a special Guardian report
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5273356.stm - useful data and diagrams
http://www.guardian.co.uk/immigration/story/0,,1766658,00.html - some useful illustrations
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2090-1847336,00.html - Poles in Scotland
The Independent had a special cover feature "Immigration Nation" in August 2006 (see below)
A newspaper article in May 2007 gave the information that Polish workers in the UK have led to a huge rise in the demand for Polish beer, called Tyskie and Lech. This is helped by the demographic of the migrant population, which has 82% of the population aged between 18 and 34
IMMIGRATION CONTEXTS AND RESOURCES
More to come soon from a book I bought recently.
The Independent has been running a wonderful series of articles on immigration, including a number of very useful front pages.
What would you miss if immigrants didn't arrive in the UK ?
Consider these statistics..
Food
Most of the food that is harvested in the UK is picked by foreign workers.
Tax
Foreign migrants contribute over £2 billion to the UK economy. Without them, your taxes would be much higher.
Population
There are now more people over 60 than under 16 and the population is ageing. Who is going to be working in the UK, paying tax and supporting your pension plan ? Young migrant workers...
GOOD STARTING POINT...
http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/index.html - general links to Polish resources from the University of Buffalo, includes a good Powerpoint introduction to the country and a good page of maps at http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/maps/task3.html