September 2008
Claims that Scotland ‘needs’ large scale immigration because of its declining and ageing population have been strongly refuted in a paper out today from think tank Migrationwatch.
Scotland’s population is not declining as is frequently claimed so substantial immigration is not required to boost the population - neither will it provide an answer to a future pensions problem caused by an aging population, nor provide a major boost to Scotland’s economic performance, says the report.
‘The arguments put forward by those who plead that Scotland is a “special case” have been systematically demolished by all serious studies,’ said Sir Andrew Green, Migrationwatch chairman.
He said that the economic claims for large scale immigration have most recently been rejected by the Economic Affairs Committee of the House of Lords after a major investigation; similar considerations apply to Scotland.
Claims that immigrants were needed to pay future pensions were also dismissed as immigrants also grow older and need pensions themselves. The only viable way to tackle this problem is for people who now tend to live longer to work longer.
‘In any case, a separate immigration system for Scotland is completely impractical,’ said Sir Andrew. ‘Without full border controls it would be unenforceable. The net result would be a “back door” to England with little or no benefit to Scotland. In a word, it would be futile.’
