Romanian caller says UK needs to "control" its immigration
22 January 2020, 16:24 | Updated: 22 January 2020, 16:35
This Romanian caller who has lived in England for 15 years said that the UK needs to control immigration and prevent people "coming over and claiming benefits."
She said this after the Prime Minister announced he plans to scrap the £30,000 wage barrier for immigrants entering the UK under plans for an Australian-style points system.
"Not all immigrants are a bad influence to the economy of the UK," said the caller Dana, who works as a translator largely for the NHS, "I have never claimed a benefit, I only pay taxes and I do believe that some immigrants do add value."
"It has to be controlled at some point because you need to have a balance on how much is going out and how much is going in regarding benefits, but it's not bad overall," she said.
Shelagh asked how Dana has felt about attitudes to immigration and general treatment, and Dana said it's been a "rollercoaster."
She has been living in the UK for half her life and every now and again she experiences racism but, she said, she pays her taxes and this is her home.
Shelagh asked what Dana would say to people who want less immigrants in the UK.
"I completely agree with some of them if they don't bring anything to the economy. It needs to be controlled at some point as too much is no good and too little is no good either so it has to be a balance," said Dana.
Shelagh countered that from the perspective of the NHS, there are not enough immigrant workers joining, to which Dana agreed.
"What we don't need is people who are actually coming over, claiming benefits, putting a dent into the overall British system," she said.
