The two sides of the immigration story

Immigration has been overwhelmingly positive for the economy but it must now be controlled for political and cultural reasons, experts at the Labour Party conference in Manchester agreed.

Speaking at a fringe event organised by the CIPD and the Work Foundation, immigration minister Liam Byrne said that migration from eastern Europe had added £6 billion a year to the economy since EU expansion in 2004, but added: “It’s a paradox that migration has done so much for the British economy but when you speak to the British public about it you get a different view.”