Harris Poll confirms ours xenophobia

This morning's Harris Poll in the FT displays some worrying statistics as regards our attitudes to foreign workers.

Following the industrial action at the Lindsey oil refinery and the regurgitation of Gordon Brown's British jobs for British workers

More than three-quarters – 78 per cent – of British adults believe immigrants should be asked to leave the country if they do not have a job, according to an FT/Harris survey published on Monday. A majority also oppose the right for other European Union citizens to work here.

Foriegn worker statistics more to the release than meets the eye

This morning's Times led with the release by the Office for National Statistics of figures that suggest that

the number of foreign workers increased by 175,000 to 2.4 million last year while the number of British workers fell by 234,000 to 27 million.

The government was reportedly not happy with the actions of Karen Dunnell which couldn't have come at a worst time as once again protests about foriegn workers begin

Mike Smithson sees something going wrong

To me what makes this interesting is not the jobs story but that what used to be the all-powerful Number 10 spin operation had no idea of what was coming and that the Office of National Statistics is operating independently without reference to ministers.

he writes and adds that

Isn’t this also a measure of the decline of Labour’s power? Whitehall has a strong sense that the game is up and bodies like the UK Statistics Authority can launch moves without fear.

Field and Hain attack Brown over jobs for British

I have just been reading Frank Field's piece in the Mail on Sunday.

Field has come out strongly in support of the actions of the wildcat strikes

I thought the Prime Minister's pledge of British jobs for British workers was meant as a joke.
Surely someone who had presided over a country that had been recruiting record numbers of workers from abroad was sending up his audience? What other meaning could be given to the punchline of Gordon Brown's first speech as Premier to a Labour Party annual conference?

He cites his knowledge of the Olympic project in Newham

We are told that the biggest single public investment project would not only leave the crowds gasping at its wonder, but would provide skills and a job-creation programme to help revitalise a run-down area.
And what has happened? Since 2005 - the date of the winning bid - the Government has been working its fingers to the bone issuing new national insurance numbers in Newham to workers taking up the new opportunities British taxpayers and British lottery payers are financing.

Peter Hai has also lit the blue touchpaper.On the World at One he said

the UK employment law has lead to inadequate protection for British workers and said that we should stop gold plating EU regulations.

There is much coverage in the Sunday's,the Indy's leader says that we must resist the temptation to resort to protectionism over the issue but adds that

national protection for jobs and exports is not an option. While some countries may try to bend the rules in their favour, the single market makes resort to overt protectionism difficult. In this respect, Gordon Brown's call to create British jobs for British workers was not only ill-advised, but of dubious legality.

The Telegraph agrees

British workers are understandably angry to see jobs going to foreigners, but protectionism is not the answer.

The Observer follows the same line

There is nothing new about companies hiring foreign labour and nothing exceptional about British workers resenting them for it. But there are reasons to be worried about the potential scale of public anger.