Immigration Solicitors

Labour MP Margaret Hodge has said that the government’s failure to build new homes in London has resulted in hostility being directed at migrants in the UK.

She attacked a “coterie of men” at the heart of power in the UK – including London Mayor Boris Johnson – accusing them of focusing on “grand projects”, rather than on tackling Britain’s housing crisis.

Mrs Hodge said that by 2021, more than 500,000 new homes would be needed in London alone – some experts estimate that the UK needs to build 250,000 new homes every year to keep pace with demand.

Since 2004 – when New Labour encourage migrants from EU member states to come to the UK to plug gaps in the workforce – the population of the UK has risen steadily.

It is also thought that there are around 800,000 illegal immigrants in the UK.

However, house building in Britain came to a halt after the 2007 banking crisis and subsequent credit crunch in 2008.

Developers have also been accused of buying up building plots and then “sitting” on them without building new homes.

Mrs Hodge was speaking in the House of Commons following the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday (04/06/14) when she made her comments. She said that the new measures include in the Queen’s Speech for tackling the housing crisis – including releasing more government land for new housing – were merely “tinkering at the edges” of the problem.

“The government’s failure to act where they can simply fuels hostility to migrants and breeds division, rather than supporting cohesion and harmony,” said Mrs Hodge.

According to 2012 figures from Eurostat, there are now more than 2.33 million EU migrants living in the UK, which has become one of the most popular member states for EU citizens to relocate to.

Figures based on data from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2012, a total of 541 Polish citizens came to Britain to settle.

Polish workers have proved to be one of the largest groups settling in the UK – Poland was one of the first countries to be granted the right to work in the UK in 2004.

The shortage of new homes being built in the UK means that many families are unable to buy their home and have to rent.

There has been controversy over the number of foreign investors snapping up property as buy-to-let concerns, without the properties being marketed to British homebuyers – and some overseas investors have bought properties as part of a portfolio and simply left them empty, potentially adding to the shortage of available homes in the UK.

Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of immigration solicitors and can advise migrants to the UK on issues such as access to public services – including housing and housing benefit – as well as citizenship, marriage in the UK, right to work in the UK and student visas.

Duncan Lewis is also a leading firm of Legal Aid solicitors and can advise on asylum and asylum appeals, as well as illegal entry to the UK, detention and deportation from the UK.

For expert help with UK immigration law, contact Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors on 020 7923 4020.