The winning Yes side barely argued its case, yet secured a narrow majority. No supplied most of the page’s argument, and its strongest voices were rated more highly, making the result feel less like a settled consensus than a decision reached amid serious disagreement.
The Yes case rested on capacity: population growth, housing, schools, roads and health provision had not kept pace. The floor’s leading Yes voice said investment had been planned for “a considerably smaller population”; another, in a more sweeping intervention, insisted the pressure came “not from home born”.
No voters largely rejected migration as the main diagnosis. The argument the floor rated highest said, “The issue is not net migration per se, it's who is in the migration figures”, while another blamed “14yrs of Tory austerity”; a further voice argued, “We need migrants to run essential services, doing jobs that UK residents won't do.”
That left the two sides talking past one another over whether the central problem was population pressure or state failure. Replies shifted between the definition of migration, the claim that “The more migrants you bring the more essential services you will need”, and a dispute over whether austerity was real or merely “a myth”.
On this platform, Yes won the verdict; No won the argument’s most respected lines.
13 Opinions
The issue is not net migration per se, it's who is in the migration figures. Too many non-earners in and too many high earners (tax payers) out. A degree of competence from government would target what is needed; care workers, seasonal agricultural workers, skilled workers and ensure that their earnings covered the dependent visa. And if you tax until the pips squeak don't expect the tax payers to hang around.
Actual figures many times larger - possibly 4-5 Million extra. So if investment in housing schools roads health university Councils is predicated on a considerably smaller population & the new population has few skills larger families doesn’t want to work - and has other cultural demands why is there any surprise? Public sector is broken, it’s lazy demotivated packed with v average workers has indifferent senior officers & their priorities are not the indigenous but incomers
Absolutely NO The main reason services are struggling in the UK is 14yrs of Tory austerity. If you keep cutting funding continuously for 14 yrs to services they will fail.. That's not an opinion that just counting! If anything the immigration (a figure used to count net migration)numbers have delayed the crisis. Simply because immigrants are prepared to do the low wage jobs British people won't. Brexit & the tightened immigration have just hastened the decline
No, it is gross migration.
We need migrants to run essential services, doing jobs that UK residents won't do. School rolls are falling as the birthrate decreases. Austerity has cut public services to the bone. Migrants are being used as a convenient scapegoat by the far right, but there is very little empirical evidence for the claims made by those who want us to hate on migrants.
Certainly not from home born . Not those poor immigrants, must be all the old people!! No brainer