Essay Series Does the EU work for working class people?

Dr Faiza Shaheen Howard Reed Frances O’Grady Prof Ozlem Onaran Dr Olivier Sykes & Dr Andreas Schulze Bäing Ellie Mae O’Hagan

June 2016 Authors

Dr Faiza Shaheen Faiza is Director of Class and has previously been Head of Inequality and Sustainable Development at Save the Children UK and Senior Researcher at NEF.

Howard Reed Howard is Director of Landman Economics.

Frances O’Grady Frances is General Secretary of the TUC.

Dr Olivier Sykes and Dr Andreas Schulze Baing Olivier is a lecturer in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Liverpool; Andreas is a lecturer at the Centre for Urban Policy Studies at the University of Manchester.

Professor Ozlem Onaran Ozlem is Professor of Economics and Director of Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre, University of Greenwich

Ellie Mae O’Hagan Ellie is a journalist and political commentator and is Media and Communications Officer at Class.

The views expressed in this paper do not represent the collective views of the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (Class), but only the views of the authors.

2 Does the work for working class people? 2016 EU referendum debate Can the European Union deliver for working class people?

The Government has announced a referendum on whether Britain should remain in the European Union will be held on Thursday 23 June 2016. But the debate has been narrowly focused on immigration with little discussion on what the referendum means for working class people more broadly.

There is a class division on Brexit, with the working class largely in favour of the UK leaving the EU and those in highly paid in professions generally wanting to stay in (YouGov polling April 2016). For many this discontent with the EU articulates itself as an anti-immigration stance – a sentiment that UKIP politicians and the ‘leave EU’ campaign have exploited. This political backdrop has greatly coloured the EU debate - misinformation is common and debates on immigration are wrongly divorced from broader trends in the labour market and EU policies.

In light of this, Class set out to make a balanced contribution to the debate, focusing on the areas and issues being overlooked and of most significance to working class people and communities in the UK. We asked key figures from across the labour movement and academic institutions- and with differing attitudes to the- EU the same question– “Does the European Union work for working class people?” – and have compiled their responses in this publication.

Does the European Union work for working class people? 3 Has the EU been good for the working class? Foreword

This is a group that has seen their wages decline in real terms, who have been growingly subject to precarious working conditions through the expansion of zero hour contracts and casualisation, disproportionately affected by spending cuts, and for those on welfare benefits been the focus of growing scrutiny, sanctioning and public demonisation. There is no doubt that life for this segment of the population has grown worse over the past few decades. But why has this hardship converted in to Eurosceptism? The common answer is immigration. While the working class are not the only ones who worry about immigration, Director of Class Dr Faiza Shaheen, with more than half of the population feeling that immigration should be reduced by ‘a Class is a major predictor of which way you lot’⁴, they are more concerned than other are likely to vote in the upcoming EU groups⁵. Referendum. Those in elementary and Democracy is another – those planning to manual jobs are almost twice as likely to say vote for leaving the EU frequently state they want to leave the EU than those in dissatisfaction with how democracy is or isn’t professional and managerial positions¹. working at the EU level⁶. A similar division exists when considering However, immigration and democracy are qualifications. 70 per cent of those with simply the drivers of concern that are visible. university degrees want to remain in the EU, Once you scratch beneath the surface it is while only 32 per cent of those without clear that there is something more complex qualifications feel the same way². that underlies these frustrations. After all, There are multiple reasons for this difference why should the working class feel more – but the obvious reason is that those higher disgruntled than others about immigration or up the income spectrum gain more from a lack of democratic control? being in the EU than those at the bottom. What do we know? This uneven distributional impact of the EU is the focus of this series of essays. Jobs are where we start our endeavour to answer this question. Howard Reed provides The ‘working class’ is used as a shorthand an overview of the impact of the EU on here to refer to those in manual or wages. Like many he finds little evidence of elementary jobs, on low incomes or welfare impacts of immigration on average wages, assistance – approximately 40 per cent of the but the story does not end here. population³.

4 Does the European Union work for working class people? Several studies have found small negative But again the story is not all positive, Özlem impacts at the bottom end of the income Onaran catalogues the series of actions taken scale. to moderate wages and rights across the EU The overall effects on existing low qualified while reminding us that the UK was not a workers are, however, small and remain passive recipient but rather a driving force for highly contested with causality difficult to the falling wage share across . prove. Stronger evidence has been found How much being part of the EU has driven that more established migrants may lose out market fundamentalism and inequality in the in the labour market as a result of a new UK is a matter of contention. Those arguing wave of immigration. to leave the EU on the left of the political At the other end of the scale, there is spectrum point to the EU and European evidence that immigration has been good for Central Bank as bastions of neo-liberalism, those on higher wages. As such, when taking captured best by the example of Greece and wages alone it is very possible that the imposed austerity⁸. working class have been negatively affected, While the EU certainly has driven some especially when compared to workers with pernicious policies across Europe, the drivers more qualifications. of inequality and falling economic well-being However, as Reed explains, it is misleading to for the poorest in the UK are largely look at wage impacts in isolation. nationally driven. The decimation of union Immigration creates demand as well as power and collective bargaining rights, supply. decline of the manufacturing sector, financialisation and public spending cuts have Migrants have been found to fill labour all been deliberate outcomes of successive market gaps, which may have contributed to UK governments. The EU is not the main an increase in business productivity and in culprit. turn created other jobs. Conservative politician, Iain Duncan Smith At the macro level, Reed argues, the recently quipped that the EU is a "force for increased investment that comes with being social injustice" which backs "the haves part of the EU has benefited everyone. Again, rather than the have-nots"⁹. it is possible that these investment benefits, as well as other economic benefits such as Commentators did not miss the irony of this lower consumer prices⁷, have benefitted statement – with many pointing out that it particular sectors and workers more than was IDS who had implemented cruel cuts on others. the poor and those with disabilities during his time as the Work and Pensions Secretary¹⁰. Frances O’Grady of the TUC underlines the rights that have been won through a co- The dilemma is, as Onaran underlines, ordinated labour movement across the EU – reversing the trend in wages and fighting the the Working Time Directive’s implementation power of banks and corporate lobbyist may which included paid leave for those on be difficult to do as a single nation. Taking the temporary contracts made a material high road on wages risks others undercutting difference to those on low incomes. on labour rights and conditions in an attempt to compete.

Does the European Union work for working class people? 5 However, persuading the whole of the EU to The evidence is scant but perceptions are increasing wages is, to put it mildly, a tall powerful. It is intuitive that the large influx of order. One can only deduce that driving immigrants to somewhere like Peterborough change for the poorest in society will be a would have created a shock to the local struggle in or outside of the EU. community and public services. Poor A running theme throughout the essays is management at the local level did not go that many of the benefits of being part of the unnoticed by local residents and has often EU have been invisible. Higher levels of fueled distrust in politicians and local civil growth, or greater innovation because of servants. immigration are not observable to the The evidence is only lacking because we have average person. failed to properly catalogue the local level Olivier Sykes and Andreas Schulze Bäing impacts and hence driven the anger and consider the visible impact in our fourth frustration of those in affected communities. essay, through a focus on EU funded What we don’t know regeneration. Between 2014-2020 a total of Across the different areas we looked – from £351.8 billion EU regeneration and structural wages to community cohesion – there was a investment will find its way to some of the dearth of concrete evidence on the impacts most deprived areas in the UK. on the poorest. As elsewhere in policy Liverpool is an obvious case study of the evaluation, we have been inequality blind impact of EU funding. The city received when it comes to the EU. considerable funding in a city ‘makeover’ and For the main part, we have barely considered was also given the mantel of ‘European City the distributional impacts of EU membership. of Culture.’ This oversight must be at least partly to It is possible that this regeneration could blame for a highly Eurosceptic working class. have happened without the EU, but Sykes & What we have not considered here is the Schulze Bäing underline that the evidence benefits that the working class have received points in the other direction. from freedom of movement. Our testimonial Margaret Thatcher and other policy makers from a young person from Spain is a stark in the 1980s and 1990s were reluctant to reminder that migration goes both ways. intervene in declining areas. As such, in the While those with lower qualifications are less context of the question posed here – the EU likely to have moved to other parts of the EU does seem to have been positive in respect to for work than those with graduate degrees¹², the regeneration of deprived areas. an exit from the EU could limit the options of Our final essay by Ellie O’Hagan looks at the the working class who like to retire in sunnier crucial issue of local community impacts on places. cohesion and on evidence of impacts on Of course, one cannot overlook the issue of public services. There is a widely held belief xenophobia. While this is undoubtedly that immigration is a burden on the welfare playing a role in public opinion, studies have state¹¹. found that a fear of the ‘other’ is often based on insecurity¹³.

6 Does the European Union work for working class people? It should be no surprise that the working The question than becomes if the EU could class feel more insecure as they are the most offer a better chance of reversing current reliant on public services and more likely to trends. Many policies, including the labour be directly competing with new immigrants. market, financial regulation, tax coordination, Meanwhile the middle and upper classes ecological sustainability and implementing a have benefited from cheaper cleaners and coordinated public investment policy could care workers. be far better done at the EU level than on our Finally, the question remains of if the working own. class will be most affected by leaving the EU. The UK is a large country with substantial Even if they have been more negatively capacity to influence Europe. Following the affected compared to others by being in the global financial crisis in 2008, it used its EU, the likely economic downturn will hit influence to steer Europe and G20 to act those on the lowest incomes most, just as in together to mitigate against a global past recessions¹⁴. depression. In the short run at least, this group could feel However, the UK has also been the leader of the brunt of the immediate economic damaging austerity, low wage and precarious consequences of leaving the EU. Some in the employment in the name of flexibility. leave campaign have suggested that we Changing the ideology of UK and key EU would no longer need public spending cuts if governments seems, especially given the we were to stop paying the EU the estimated current political makeup, farfetched. net £8 billion a year¹⁵. The EU debate had brought to the surface While there is no suggestion that the Brexit deep chasms in the UK on issues such as would result in the end of government’s immigration, public services, jobs and plans cuts from the Prime Minister or the sovereignty. Debates so far have Chancellor, the end of public spending cuts demonstrated how elites dominate the public would certainly benefit the poorest most. sphere and how years of neglect of the What next for the EU and the working class? concerns of a particular group, poor leadership and communication has resulted In this essay series we do not set out to make in xenophobia and misunderstanding of who a case for leaving or staying in Europe. and what is driving hardship and inequality. Instead, we aim to take a holistic look across wages, workers’ rights, regeneration and The chicken has come home to roost and it community cohesion to understand the certainly not making for a progressive or impacts of the EU on those on the lowest even honest debate of the issues that matter incomes. We find genuine reason for an for justice. aggrieved working class but we also find they If come June 23rd we do vote to leave the have gained from UK’s membership of the EU, the working class may feel that they have EU. finally prised back some power, but will not The picture, as most would suspect, is mixed. see their problems of low pay and insecurity Perhaps the most important observation is disappear. If we stay, this group will be even that many of the driving factors behind the more disgruntled, and appeasing the working decline of economic well-being at the bottom class will need to be a matter of priority. were driven by UK, rather than EU policy.

Does the European Union work for working class people? 7 One can only hope that the clear class divide http://www.counterfire.org/articles/ in attitudes and likely fallout after the opinion/17936-5-reasons-why-we-should-vote-to- referendum, including the defection of a leave-the-eu growing number of the working class to UKIP, ⁹ Conservative Home “Iain Duncan Smith: Speech will open the eyes of politicians to how on why the EU is a force for social injustice” (10 policies are affecting different communities May, 2016) http://www.conservativehome.com/ and the dire social and political consequences parliament/2016/05/iain-duncan-smith-speech- that ignoring this inequality has. on-why-the-eu-is-a-force-for-social-injustice-full- text.html

References ¹⁰ The Mirror (10 May 2016) Iain Duncan Smith accused of hyprocrisy after claiming ‘the EU a ¹ Kellner, P. “EU referendum: Provincial England force for social injustice’ http:// versus London and the Celts” Yougov (2016) www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/iain-duncan- https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/03/24/eu- smith-accused-hypocrisy-7936079 referendum-provincial-england-versus-london- and/ ¹¹ See Goodwin, M. & Milazzo, C. (2015) Op. cit. ² Ibid. ¹² Arslan, C. et al. (2014), ‘A New Profile of Migrants in the Aftermath of the Recent Economic ³ Ipsos MediaCT Social Grade: A classification tool Crisis’, OECD Social, Employment and Migration (2009) https://www.ipsos-mori.com/ Working Papers, No. 160, OECD Publishing. DownloadPublication/1285_MediaCT_thoughtpie ce_Social_Grade_July09_V3_WEB.pdf ¹³ For discussion see Lazaridis, G (Ed). (2011). “Security, Insecurity and Migration in Europe” ⁴ Blinder, S. “Briefing: UK opinion toward Aldershot: Ashgate. immigration: overall attitudes and level of concern” Migration Observatory (2015) http:// ¹⁴ Tunstall, B. (2009) “Communities in recession: www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/briefings/uk- the impact on deprived neighbourhoods” Joseph public-opinion-toward-immigration-overall- Rowntree Foundation https://www.jrf.org.uk/ attitudes-and-level-concern report/communities-recession-impact-deprived- neighbourhoods ⁵ Beiber, H. “White Working-class Voices: Multiculturalism, Community-building and ¹⁵ Emmerson, C., Johnson, P., Mitchell, I., and Change” Bristol: The Policy Press (2015) Phillips, D. “Brexit and the UK’s public finances” Institute for Fiscal Studies http://www.ifs.org.uk/ ⁶ Goodwin, M. & Milazzo, C. “Britain, the publications/8296 European Union and the Referendum: What drives Euroscepticism?” Chatham House Briefing (2015) https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/ chathamhouse/publications/ research/20151209EuroscepticismGoodwinMilazz o.pdf ⁷ HM Treasury. (2016) “HM Treasury analysis: The long-term impact of EU membership and the alternatives” https://www.gov.uk/government/ uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/ file/517415/ treasury_analysis_economic_impact_of_eu_mem bership_web.pdf ⁸ See, for example, Westmorland (August 2015) ‘5 reasons we should vote leave the EU.’ Counterfire.

8 Does the European Union work for working class people? Is the EU good for those on low wages?

Howard Reed, Director, Landman The impact of migration from other EU coun- tries on average wages Economics Freedom of movement of labour was a A key issue in the upcoming EU referendum is founding principle of the EEC (as it was origi- whether being a member of the EU is good nally known) and citizens from other member for workers on low wages. This article exam- countries have been able to work in the UK ines the evidence on this issue, focusing in since it joined the EEC in 1973. However, particular on two aspects. Firstly, I examine large-scale concern about the impact of EU the empirical evidence on whether increased membership on wages first began to be migration from other EU countries in the past voiced in the UK media when eight countries 15 years has had any negative impact on from central and eastern Europe (known as wages. Secondly, I assess the overall impact the "A8" countries) joined the EU in 2004¹. of EU membership on economic perfor- Wage levels were much lower in these coun- mance, looking at the effect on wages indi- tries than in the UK and it was feared in some rectly. quarters that a large inflow of cheap labour from the A8 countries would result in lower wages for British workers. But what actually happened after 2004? Looking at the data on average wages in the UK (as shown in Figure 1), it's hard to see any

impact of the A8 entry to the EU. Figure 1. Median full-time gross weekly earnings in current and constant (2015) prices, UK, April 1997 to 2015

Does the European Union work for working class people? 9 Average wages in real terms (the "constant At the bottom of the wage distribution, there (2015 prices)" line in Figure 1) were rising is potentially a small impact on the wages of between 1997 and 2008 and then fell be- low-paid workers born in the UK at the tween 2008 and 2014, until by 2014 they bottom of the distribution. However there were back down levels last seen in 2001. does seem to be a negative impact on the wages of low-paid workers born outside the The timing of the fall in average wages UK, i.e. earlier waves of migrant workers⁴. doesn't match the timing of the expansion of Evidence also suggests that increased immi- the EU. Instead, the fall in wages appears to gration is associated with increased wages at be a consequence of the severe economic the top of the wage distribution⁵. recession of 2008-09 that followed the US The impact of EU membership on the UK's subprime mortgage crisis and the resulting overall economic performance crisis in the global financial sector. In the long run, the UK's overall economic Furthermore, when workers from two more performance is a key determinant of wage new entrant countries, Bulgaria and Romania, growth. Therefore, in considering the impact were allowed full access to the UK labour of the UK's membership on wages, it is im- market in 2015, this coincided with wages portant to consider the impact of EU mem- beginning to rise again – the opposite of the bership on the country's economic perfor- effect one might expect if increased migra- mance. tion from EU countries was decreasing wag- es. Most (although not all) economists believe that the UK has benefited from membership The impact of EU migration on those on low of the EU in terms of increased opportunities incomes for trade and lower barriers to export mar- Just looking at average wages is a simplistic kets, and inward migration from highly tal- approach which does not control for other ented European workers. features of the UK economy which might By the same token, most economists believe have been changing over the last two dec- that 'Brexit' would be bad for the UK's eco- ades². Fortunately, there are a number of nomic prospects. In the Financial Times's more sophisticated empirical studies of the annual poll of more than 100 leading eco- effects of migration which use survey or ad- nomic thinkers, around three-quarters of re- ministrative data to measure the impacts in spondents thought leaving the EU would more detail. damage the country's medium term outlook, Most of these studies focus on the overall while less than one in ten respondents effects of immigration (rather than just the thought the UK would benefit from leaving⁶. EU) but as migration from other EU countries The most important negative predicted con- is a large component of overall immigration sequences if Britain leaves the EU are re- over the last 15 years, the results are still rel- duced inward investment into the UK econo- evant. my and reduced inward migration of talented Recent research suggests that increased im- workers. Reduced inward investment would migration has had no measurable impact on almost certainly damage UK productivity (and average wages in the UK even when control- hence wage levels)⁷. ling for other factors³.

10 Does the European Union work for working class people? Reduced inward migration could lead to skill dustrial and occupational structure of the UK. For shortages which might increase wages for more on long-term trends in wages see Reed & certain occupations in the short run but Lansley, How To Boost The Wage Share, TUC would also be likely to have a negative im- Touchstone Pamphlet No 13, London: Trades Un- pact on productivity through impairing busi- ion Congress. ness efficiency⁸. ³ See Dhingra, Ottaviano, van Reenen & Wadsworth, "Brexit and the impact of immigra- There is also empirical evidence that in- tion on the UK", LSE Centre for Economic Perfor- creased migration increases innovation activi- mance, CEP Brexit Analysis No 5, May 2016, in ty in the country migrated to (e.g. patent ap- particular Figure 9. plications)⁹, suggesting that reduced immi- ⁴ Ibid, (in particular Figure 11). gration could reduce innovation and hence growth. This would also be bad for UK ⁵ See Ruhs & Vargas-Silva, "The Labour Market productivity (and hence for wages). Effects of Immigration", Briefing Paper, Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford (May Conclusion 2015) http://www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/ This article has shown that there is no evi- briefings/labour-market-effects-immigration dence that increased immigration from other ⁶ Giles & Cadman, "Economists' forecasts: Brexit EU countries has had a negative impact on would damage growth", Financial Times (3 Janu- average wages in the UK, although there is ary 2016) https://next.ft.com/content/1a86ab36- some evidence of a small negative impact for afbe-11e5-b955-1a1d298b6250 low earners and other existing immigrants. In ⁷ While the precise relationship between wages this regard, increasing the National Minimum and productivity is complex, most economists Wage (now called the National Living Wage agree that in the long run wage increases are paid for workers aged 25 and over) is a good thing. for out of productivity increases , and hence a reduction in business productivity is likely tore- Meanwhile, the overall consensus among duce wages. economists is that the UK benefits substan- ⁸ See for example, J Portes (2015), "Immigration tially from EU membership in terms of im- and the Productivity Challenge", written evidence proved economic performance and greater to UK Parliamentary Select Committee on Home innovation. To the extent that 'Brexit' harmed Affairs http://data.parliament.uk/ the economy, this would be likely to cause a WrittenEvidence/CommitteeEvidence.svc/ negative impact on wages. EvidenceDocument/Home%20Affairs/ Immigration%20%20skill%20shortages/ written/20357.html References ⁹ See "What do we know about migration? In- ¹ The A8 countries are the , , forming the debate", Centre for Research and , , , , and Analysis of Migration (CReAM) at University Col- . and also joined the EU in lege London. http://www.cream-migration.org/ 2004. files/Migration-FactSheet.pdf ² Note that in addition to increased immigration there have been many other changes in the UK labour market in recent decades which may have affected wages – in particular reduced trade un- ion density, lower coverage of collective bargain- ing agreements, legislative changes (such as the National Minimum Wage) and changes to the in-

Does the European Union work for working class people? 11 The impact of EU legislation on workers’ rights

Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of The impact of EU law the TUC • Health and safety law: the 1989 Framework Over the years, the EU has become central to Directive and its five daughter directives cov- workers’ rights in the UK. ering issues like manual handling, work at Last time there was a referendum, the TUC heights, protective equipment, risk assess- advocated leaving, on the grounds that the ment and worker representation as well as Common Market was a free trade area subsequent directives on chemicals and asbes- without a significant social dimension tos; (although the original Treaty of Rome • Working time regulation: putting limits on contained a commitment to equal pay). After the length of the working week, providing Jacques Delors made his famous address to paid holidays and adequately reflecting wages the 1988 Congress, the growth of that social in the calculation of holiday pay, and defining dimension cemented trade union support for what counts as working time; staying in. British unions became familiar with • Equality law: equal pay between men and campaigning and lobbying in Brussels and women, maternity and parental leave rights, together with trade unionists across the EU. protection from discrimination on grounds of We fought hard for better health and safety sex, race, age, disability, gender reassign- laws; protections for people whose jobs were ment, sexual orientation and religion or belief, not full-time and permanent; and equality and full compensation for workers who suffer regardless of gender, race, disability or sexual discrimination; orientation. • Fair treatment for atypical workers: ensur- We also campaigned against measures like ing that part-time workers, temporary work- the Services Directive as we now do against ers and agency workers are treated the same the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment as full-time, permanent workers; Partnership (TTIP): no trade unionist ever • Voice at work: several EU Directives require said the EU was perfect. consultation with union or worker representa- But EU labour law has become a crucial tives, for example on health and safety at element of UK labour law, as our legal advice work, where there are collective redundancies from Michael Ford QC makes clear¹. And the or a business transfer. EU law also provides European Court of Justice (ECJ) has become a for European Works Councils to be set up in key defence for individual employment transnational companies and arrangements rights, with a far better track record than UK for routine information and consultation of courts, although we oppose its restrictions on the workforce; collective rights where they conflict with • Protection for outsourced workers: the ac- economic freedoms. quired rights directive has guaranteed wages EU labour law and other rights for millions of people whose Books have been written about EU labour jobs have been transferred from the public to law, as the last forty years have seen a lot of the private sector, as well as other jobs. it. Briefly, the main laws can be summarised as follows:

12 Does the European Union work for working class people? However, the balance of EU law is far more And globally, the situation facing workers has about individual than collective rights, and deteriorated, most recently as a result of the the ECJ has been more positive towards global financial crisis. individuals than trade unions, as shown by Employers internationally have attacked the the cases known as Viking and Laval², which right to strike (including at the ILO itself), and have restricted the scope of industrial action. the drive for competitiveness and flexibility Even so, other EU law has benefitted millions has seen workers’ rights to stable of workers in the UK and throughout Europe. employment attacked, most recently in The Working Time Directive’s Turkey⁴. implementation led to 2 million workers What would Brexit mean for workers’ getting paid leave for the first time ever, and rights? increased the leave provided to 5 million more³. There has been a lot of speculation about what impact Brexit would have on labour Providing a floor of employment rights has law. It is unlikely that individual rights would improved the terms and conditions of be improved, because EU law only sets millions of part-time workers, although it has minimum standards and the UK government also been argued that by providing a safety is already free to go beyond what the EU net, such atypical work has been facilitated as requires. well as regulated. In theory, the restrictions the ECJ has placed The EU has also been less effective in dealing on collective industrial action could be with more recent examples of flexibilisation – relaxed but given the sustained attacks on such as zero hours contracts. trade union rights we’ve seen in this country, The social dimension in context we are probably more likely to get Of course, not all developments in UK labour improvements by campaigning alongside law come from the EU. The national other trade unions within the EU. minimum wage, unfair dismissal and So the likelihood is that workers’ rights would redundancy protections are domestically- be reduced if the UK left the European Union. driven, and some rights exceed the European The only question is: how much? minimum, such as the length of maternity It is unlikely that whole laws will be scrapped leave the UK provides. – at least initially – but it is more than likely But a lot of the labour law which has been that ECJ judgments will be reversed in law, determined at Westminster has been and certain groups of workers may well lose detrimental to workers’ interests. Wages their right to work-life balance (for example, Councils were abolished (the Agricultural Christopher Chope MP’s Private Members’ Wages Board being the last), unions have Bill would remove the limit on working time been constrained by a series of laws in the for health workers⁵). 1980s and more recently the Trade Union Agency worker rights have been singled out Bill, and governments since 2010 have for removal by Open Europe⁶, and trimmed back protections for outsourced Economists for Brexit have also targeted workers, made employment protection more equality laws⁷. difficult to earn, reduced limits on compensation for unfair dismissal and introduced fees for workers to enforce their rights at Employment Tribunals.

Does the European Union work for working class people? 13 TUPE rights that have been trimmed back In campaigning for these rights at European where not protected by EU law could see level, the TUC would benefit from the further erosion if not outright abolition, and support of strong trade union movements in limits would be placed on compensation for Austria, Germany and Sweden, as we have in discrimination cases. the past. Every right that exists in European law would Conclusion lose the protection created by the collective The impact of EU membership on workers’ strength in numbers of the current EU , and rights has not gone far enough, and there are could be liable to be overturned in the elements which we oppose. But overall, medium to long-term. membership of the EU has been positive for Unions would of course campaign against working people’s rights at work. such moves, and some could be retained No one knows exactly what impact leaving through collective bargaining, but we would the EU would have on workers’ rights. But it need to devote considerable resources and would not be good, which is why the TUC is effort to defend rights on which we can urging people not to risk it. currently rely.

What more has Europe got to offer? References If Britain votes to remain in the EU, the ¹ TUC https://www.tuc.org.uk/international- possibility exists to strengthen workers’ issues/europe/eu-referendum/workers%E2%80% rights. The European Commission is currently 99-rights-europe-impact-brexit consulting on new rights for working parents ² See https://www.etuc.org/sites/www.etuc.org/ and carers⁸, and on a new ‘social pillar’⁹ files/ETUC_Viking_Laval_- initially covering only the Eurozone, but _resolution_070308_2.pdf which other countries could opt to join. ³ See TUC, 2016, https://www.tuc.org.uk/ The proposed ‘social pillar’ is not currently international-issues/europe/eu-referendum/ worth much, but it provides the scope to workplace-issues/brexit-would-put-7m-people% campaign for the revitalisation of social E2%80%99s-holiday-pay Europe. ⁴ TUC Stronger Unions blog http:// And the UK labour movement’s experience of strongerunions.org/2016/04/22/turkish-workers- campaigning for Britain to sign up to the under-further-attacks/ social chapter in the 1990s offers an example ⁵ http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/ of how any new rights could be extended to workingtimedirectivelimitation.html British workers too. ⁶ Open Europe http://openeurope.org.uk/ The sort of rights that European trade unions intelligence/britain-and-the-eu/top-100-eu-rules- cost-britain-33-3bn/ are seeking range from closing loopholes in the Posted Workers Directive (to prevent ⁷ See TUC response, April 2016, https:// undercutting caused by exploitation of www.tuc.org.uk/international-issues/europe/eu- migrant workers) and the Temporary Agency referendum/minford-view-brexit-and-exports- lacks-credibility-says-tuc?render=overlay Workers Directive (to stop the derogations which allow continued unequal treatment) as ⁸ See the European Commission on gender well as new rights in areas such as workplace equality http://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/ democracy, equal treatment for domestic gender-equality/ opinion/1511_roadmap_reconciliation_en.htm workers, cracking down on zero hours contracts, and measures to combat stress ⁹ See for example http://europa.eu/rapid/press- and musculo-skeletal disorders. release_IP-16-544_en.htm

14 Does the European Union work for working class people?

“Personally I’m in favour of the EU because it’s given us more workers’ rights. We get more holidays now because of EU laws. Overall I think it’s a good thing. But the EU also means big foreign companies get contracts in Britain, and then bring their own workforce over so they don’t have to pay union-agreed rates. It undercuts workers and causes resentment. My union is taking action to sort it out, but it is a problem.” Ryan, construction worker

Does the European Union work for working class people? 15 The role of the UK and EU in labour market

Özlem Onaran, Professor of Economics In some instances the EU could be seen as and Director of Greenwich Political Economy diluting some of the most harmful labour Research Centre, University of Greenwich market policies that the UK led. What’s more, implementing policies for a wage-led econo- my is more easily done as part of the EU with The TUC has demonstrated the risks of Brexit significantly stronger impacts on growth, ra- for the rights of working women and men in ther than implementing them alone in the this publication and elsewhere¹. However it is UK. also true that despite the rights secured by EU, wages and growth the European trade union movement in the last few decades, labour market policies in The fall in the wage share has been a deliber- the EU Member States (MS) do not paint a ate outcome of policies that led to the fall in rosy picture. the bargaining power of labour, welfare state retrenchment, and financialisation. The com- Individual EU MS and the European Commis- bination of these policies in the UK and Eu- sion (EC) have long encouraged wage moder- rope have led to the vicious circle of rising ation, explicitly recommending real wage inequality, financialisation, chronically low growth below productivity growth to increase demand, slowdown in investment and the international competitiveness of each productivity and low growth and fewer or country. This policy has resulted in three dec- bad quality jobs³. ades of increasing inequality, declining share of wages in national income, and the emer- In the UK, households increased their debt to gence of a new class of super rich, without maintain consumption levels in the absence generating a sustainable growth model for of decent wage increases. The crisis of 2007- Europe. 9, and the subsequent Great Recession have proven the fragility of this model. The recov- Our research shows that this rise in inequali- ery in Britain is built once again on the shaky ties and the decline in the wage share have ground of household debt instead of a been associated with a weaker and more vol- healthy wage growth. atile growth performance². This has affected all UK workers to varying degrees, but has Stimulating wages would not only improve been particularly damaging for those on the economic performance and employment but lowest wages. Wages have stagnated along would also help tackle unsustainable growth with deteriorating working conditions and that is driven by debt. Higher wage and pro- rise in zero hours contracts and other forms labour policies can be implemented unilater- of precarious work. Increasingly low wage ally in a large country with a substantial do- workers have had to rely on pay day loans to mestic market such as the UK, even if the rest make ends meet. of Europe or the world does not reverse their low road policies. The UK has been the leader of anti-labour low road labour market policies such as de- However, if only the UK takes positive action, regulation, zero hours contracts and disman- it is possible that our trade partners across tling collective voice at the work place; and Europe could continue their aggressive wage used globalisation as a pre-text to implement competition policies via further decreases in them and to claim that there is no alterna- the wage share. tive.

16 Does the European Union work for working class people? In short, if good pro-labour policies cannot be This requires regulating finance and imple- extended to the rest of Europe, the race to menting a public investment programme cen- the bottom on wages elsewhere could pre- tred on substantial public investment in vent UK policy makers from ensuring higher green physical infrastructure in renewable wages and better conditions. energy, public transport and housing and so- cial infrastructure in care, education, and Furthermore, the negative impact on trade health. balance is also more negligible when our trade partners also allow their wages and Again, we can work for financial regulation, hence demand to increase. tax coordination, ecological sustainability and implement a coordinated public investment The role of the UK and the EU in reversing policy far better at the EU level than we could poor labour market conditions on our own. We have strong empirical evidence to reject Conclusion the myth that we cannot have pro-labour policies in Europe in the age of globalisation⁴. The UK together with the EU, have followed policy paths that have resulted in deterio- The EU as a whole is strong enough to pur- rating labour market conditions over several sue an egalitarian growth strategy and would decades. While the UK could reverse these benefit from a coordinated boost to the wage trends alone, the pro-labour policies are share. As such, the UK and Europe could, and more likely to succeed and the effects would should, take a step forward in terms of radi- be a lot stronger if implemented at the Euro- cally reversing the fall in the wage share glob- pean level. ally. A 1% point increase in the wage share in the The empirical evidence shows that to break EU as a whole increases the GDP in the UK by the vicious circle of inequality and stagnation 0.2%; this is almost double the increase that we need alternative economic policies based could be achieved if the UK were to imple- on a coordinated policy mix of equality-led ment these policies alone⁷. development and public investment⁵. The strategy of wage-led development requires labour market policies aiming at pre- distribution as well as redistribution⁶.

These include strengthening the bargaining power of labour, ensuring higher collective bargaining coverage, increasing statutory minimum wage to the level of a living wage, enforcing gender equality, introducing and enforcing pay ratios to moderate wage ine- quality, restoring the progressivity of the tax system, and ending public sector pay freezes.

Furthermore, income distribution policies need to be embedded into a broader macroe- conomic and industrial policy mix targeting equality, full employment, and ecological sus- tainability.

17 Does the European Union work for working class people? References cal Economy, University of Greenwich. ¹ TUC 2016, “UK Employment Rights and the EU” ⁴ See Onaran and Obst, 2015, above. https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/UK% ⁵ Onaran,, 2015. "Wage- versus profit- led growth 20employment%20rights%20and%20the% in the context of international interactions and the 20EU.pdf political aspects of wage-led recovery", Greenwich ² Onaran and Obst, 2015 "Wage-led growth in the Papers in Political Economy, University of Green- EU15 Member States: The effects of income distri- wich, forthcoming in Review of Keynesian Eco- bution on growth, investment, trade balance, and nomics. inflation", Greenwich Papers in Political Economy, ⁶ Onaran, and Stockhammer, E. 2016, Policies for University of Greenwich, forthcoming in Cam- wage-led growth in Europe, Report for the Foun- bridge Journal of Economics. dation of European Progressive Studies, http:// ³ Tori, D., and Onaran, Ö. (2015), "The effects of www.feps-europe.eu/assets/ea50ecd6-6ff5-4922- financialization on investment: Evidence from firm be9a-ffb770f8664e/policies-wage-led-up-growth- -level data for the UK", Greenwich Papers in Politi- europepdf.pdf ⁷ See Onaran and Obst, 2015, above.

18 Does the European Union work for working class people? The impact of EU regeneration and structural funds

Olivier Sykes, of Economics, University of The creation of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the mid-1970s Liverpool and Andreas Schulze Bäing was thus an early example of how working Centre for Urban Policy Studies , the Universi- with other countries within the EEC could ty of Manchester benefit the UK – in this case her economically struggling regions and their communities.

This essay considers how EU regeneration The emergence of a European regional policy and structural investment – worth 50.8 billion and the associated ‘structural funds’ was Euros in 2016 (a third of the EU budget) and particularly significant to the UK, which was around 351.8 billion over the 2014-2020 facing dramatic economic restructuring sooner period, has benefitted deprived communities than countries like France and Germany. This in the UK. As the effects of EU policies cannot impacted particularly on those areas and be assessed without considering the interplay working class communities highly dependent between EU and national contexts, the essay on ‘traditional’ manufacturing sectors. Areas considers EU regeneration and structural of northern and western Britain bore a investment against the domestic UK context. disproportionate share of social, economic,

environmental and cultural costs of this EU Cohesion Policy – another British change in the 1980s. contribution to the ‘European project’?

From the 1930s onwards Britain has pursued It is worth noting too that by this time the some form of regional policy to try and broad ‘social democratic consensus’ of the provide opportunity and more equal levels of post-war years had given way to the rise of economic development between her regions, neoliberal influence on the state and public focussing in particular on the heavily policy advocating less state spending and industrialised North and West of the UK¹. This intervention to address the consequences of follows the idea that the state should not economic and social change. Economic passively assume that people should simply turbulence, mass unemployment and urban migrate to where there is work, but also seek unrest in the 1980s, reinforced the emergence to bring work and opportunity to the places of ‘urban regeneration’ which sought to where people already live. address urban ‘problems’, typically in what Thatcher famously described as “those inner When the UK joined the then European cities”³. Economic Community (EEC) in 1973 the creation of a European regional policy had Urban policy was increasingly dominated by been under discussion for some time, but it Central Government which privileged an was the UK joining which provided an added increased role for the private sector. There impetus to its development². This ensured a was even talk within government of “managed larger direct return on the UK contribution to decline” for certain major urban areas such as the EEC budget because the UK was not Liverpool⁴. Such thinking would have been expected to benefit as much as other states unthinkable to post-war British governments from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). of any political hue prior to the neoliberal ascendancy. Crucially it remained unacceptable to a number of key actors in the UK (notably the pro-European dirigiste Michael Heseltine) and at the highest levels within European institutions.

Does the European Union work for working class people? 19 Regional policy was in fact sustained as an Following the arrival of New Labour in power, idea and financially supported – notably after EU structural funding priorities and 1989 by the EEC . EU funding programmes programmes dovetailed with national provided opportunity and hope to initiatives such as ‘urban renaissance’, social communities devastated economically and inclusion and neighbourhood renewal. EU socially by economic change and the state’s structural funds played a role in fostering campaign against certain industrial sectors faster growth in some previously ‘lagging’ and communities (e.g. initiatives such as areas such as Merseyside, South Yorkshire ‘RECHAR’⁵ which provided EU support to and the Highlands and Islands. communities affected by pit closures). They also played a role in the physical Impact on investment, jobs and on deprived transformation of places scarred by the communities economic decline and dereliction and neglect As the 1990s arrived, the shocking truth was of the previous decades. Such changes were revealed that, based on their GDP figures, more than cosmetic for those who had had to some areas of the UK were now eligible for endure such conditions. In many places the highest level of European regional policy projects to foster a renewed, more attractive support (called ‘Objective 1’). This was and dynamic public realm received support despite the UK having one of the largest from EU funds. economies in what was now called the EU. Through the 1990s, EU structural fund On the other hand the entry of less support in certain regions such as Merseyside prosperous nations into the EU in the mid- helped regenerate the physical environment 2000s had a so-called ‘statistical effect’, and ameliorate social conditions through meaning that the average level of GDP per initiatives like the ‘Pathways Communities’ head level in the EU fell. Regional disparities programme⁶. were now much greater in the new EU of 28 rather than 15 states. The requirements of EU funding such as the partnership principle and need to ‘match This made the UK regions which had fund’ projects (meaning the member state previously been amongst the poorest in the had to contribute too) and the need to EU appear relatively more prosperous against manage Structural Fund programmes also EU averages and resulted in the UK overall obliged national government to think about receiving less EU structural fund investment how it would deliver regeneration. (though Cornwall and Isles of Scilly actually saw its allocation rise)⁸. New institutions such as regional government offices were created in part to oversee EU Today EU Structural Funds account for regional programmes and played a role in approximately 33.9% of the EU budget and tailoring policy to regional needs and feeding fund area based, sector based, and people- back such needs to Whitehall. The fact EU focused investment. From 2014 to 2020, funding operated over a cycle of 6-yearly €16.4 billion is allocated to the UK amounting budgets gave more certainty over resources to 255 Euros per person⁹. The European for a longer period. It also facilitated many Social Fund (ESF) continues to fund actions investments which would not have been which can benefit working class communities possible otherwise⁷. with the UK programme focussing on reducing inactivity among young people and the long-term unemployed¹⁰.

20 Does the European Union work for working class people? As with any placed-based investment there But returning to the idea of bringing the are mixed views about the effectiveness of “People to the work, or the work to the EU structural an investment funds. But there people” and recognising the concerns which is evidence that disparities in revenue & some have claimed working class people employment were declining in the EU before have about immigration; the EU regional and the 2008 financial crisis. regeneration funds play another role. In helping to promote development in some of The impact on local autonomy the less economically developed parts of the The symbolic and political value of EU EU they effectively help to bring some “work structural funds to some places and the to the people” and hence tackle one opportunities they have opened-up for important push factor of emigration towards empowerment of local decision-makers and more prosperous EU regions¹². EU structural communities should also not be and regeneration funds therefore play an underestimated. Access to EU funding and indirect role in addressing issues of apparent the European stage has enabled some cities concern to some communities and individuals and communities to regain the sense of in the UK even when they are not spent worth and dignity which was stripped from directly in the UK. them in the national context in the latter decades of the 20th century, through Conclusion negative media and political stereotyping This essay has highlighted how by EU about certain places. structural and regeneration spending has sought to foster rights to equal territorial The renaissance of cities like Liverpool cannot opportunity for certain communities and be attributed solely to EU programmes, but individuals. For all the frustration which its the idea that major cities in the north of contradictory positions generate, the EU still England can be described as international devotes a third of its modest (in relative centres, ‘European Cultural Capitals’¹¹ or terms) budget¹³ to upholding the principle ‘powerhouses’ can no longer be as blithely that “people should not be disadvantaged by dismissed by a London centric media and a wherever they happen to live or work in the home counties born and educated political Union”¹⁴. elite. This is a fundamental territorial expression of It was notable too that in the early 2000s the principle of social democracy and of a when a new EU regional policy was being European social model that advocates discussed, many UK local authorities reinvestment in people and places facing supported the EU Commission’s proposal for development and regeneration challenges. a larger EU budget rather than that EU action in this field has strongly advocated by the UK and other net complemented urban and regional contributor states. In other words the best development and regeneration activity in the way for some UK regions to get a larger share UK. Through its demonstrable achievements of UK national resources to spend on it has also provided a powerful corrective to improving social, economic and the view of free-marketeers who claims that environmental conditions in their areas was regeneration support to certain communities to see UK monies routed through the EU. and places is an inefficient use of resources which could be better deployed elsewhere¹⁵.

Does the European Union work for working class people? 21 References ⁹ See: https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/ countries/UK ¹ McCrone, G. (1969), Regional Policy in Britain, Allen and Unwin, London. ¹⁰ From 2014-2020, €4.9 billion is available to fund actions in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, ² Manzella & Mendez, (2009) The turning points of England and Gibraltar http://ec.europa.eu/esf/ EU Cohesion policy main.jsp?catId=381&langId=en ³ Guardian Newspaper, (2014) Inner cities: ¹¹ See: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/ changing places - Editorial, The Guardian livacuk/impacts08/pdf/pdf/Creating_an_Impact_- Newspaper, Sunday 04 May 2014 _web.pdf ⁴ See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england- ¹² Please Note: This argument is separate to that merseyside-16355281 surrounding the benefits of EU immigration to the ⁵ http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-91- UK which are significant notably for migrants from 732_en.htm countries that joined the EU in 2004. ⁶ See: http://liverpool.gov.uk/media/1079293/ See: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news- commission-on-europe-final-report.pdf & http:// articles/1114/051114-economic-impact-EU- ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/atlas/ immigration & http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ programmes/2000-2006/united-kingdom/ doi/10.1111/ecoj.12181/abstract merseyside-objective-1-programme ¹³ The EU budget represents approximately 1% of ⁷ See: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/ the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the 28 EU liverpool-news/liverpool-would-died-without- states. A small proportion compared to national euro-3441114 budgets. ⁸ See: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/ The EU multiannual financial framework (MFF) media/3622927/Post-2013-European-Funding- allows the EU to commit to around €960 billion of Building-on-Success.pdf spending for the 2014-2020 period. This compares to expected UK public sector spending of £772 billion (€980.28 billion) in 2016-17. See: http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/ documents/SN06455/SN06455.pdf ¹⁴ See: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/ sources/docoffic/official/reports/pdf/cohesion3/ cohesion3_part1_terr_en.pdf ¹⁵ See for example: http:// www.policyexchange.org.uk/images/publications/ cities%20unlimited%20-%20aug%2008.pdf

22 Does the European Union work for working class people? The EU and community cohesion

Despite voters consistently listing migration Media and Com- Ellie Mae O’Hagan, as one of their top concerns, research around munications Officer at Class. the topic is hazy and incomplete. In 2012, the Migration Advisory Committee pointed to The pivotal issue for the EU referendum is “serious difficulties in accurately measuring migration. By this I do not mean that migra- the effects of migration on the availability tion is the most important factor in whether and quality of public services.”² Britain should leave the EU or not; I mean The King’s Fund noted that there is “a lack of that – rightly or wrongly – it has become the reliable data on the use of health services by focal point for public discourse. While this is immigrants and visitors.” We simply do not in part because of perceived impacts on job know the extent to which fears about migra- prospects and wages (see essay by Howard tion are manufactured, or based on some- Reed), it is also a reflection of concerns over thing concrete. public services and community cohesion. This is important, because hostility to mi- These is no denying that pockets of the coun- grants is widespread – and has increased con- try have been affected by migration, while siderably in the last decade. The number of other places that have barely been affected people who say that the impact of immigra- at all. tion has been "very bad" has almost doubled This essay focused on what these effects are, from 11 to 21%³. in particular how it has made the local com- The poorest, least well-educated and most munity feel, perceived and real impacts on insecure percentiles feel this most - including local services and how concerns can be ad- many first or second-generation migrants dressed in a progressive way which does not themselves. So when it comes to the commu- put migrants themselves at risk of harm or nity impact of migration, separating myth prejudice. from fact is vital. Attitudes to immigration So what do we know? Attitudes and impacts of immigration are Impacts on local services and housing better gauged at the local level. Take Peter- borough, for example. In the past decade Health services (2003-2013) 24,000 migrants moved into Pe- As migration increases the population, it in- terborough, making up more than one in creases the number of potential users of pub- eight of the population. lic services. One of the key arguments made These migrants were not disproportionately against migration is that UK public services from the EU – in fact more were from Paki- simply cannot afford the strain. stan – but their presence will have reshaped But the reality is more complex. According to the experience of living in Peterborough Full Fact, the extent to which migrants rely on quite significantly. In 2014, the IPPR spoke to public services varies depending on the char- residents of Peterborough about EU migra- acteristics of migrants and on the service in tion¹, reporting that “many participants question⁴. For example, newly arriving mi- raised major concerns about EU migrants’ grants tend to be young adults. Because of access to welfare, pressures on public ser- their age, they are expected to be less likely vices, crime and personal security, and wage to use adult social care and most health ser- undercutting” but also that “many partici- vices than the UK born. pants welcomed EU migrants that came to work and contribute.”

Does the European Union work for working class people? 23 However, they are more likely than the UK Education born to have young children, and so they are According to the Joseph Rowntree Founda- expected to rely more heavily on education tion, the impact of migration on schools and maternity care. differs according to the level of resources Similarly, the King’s Fund notes that “the av- available: “Where resources were adequate, erage use of health services by immigrants schools enhanced new arrivals' ability to par- and visitors appears to be lower than that of ticipate in the community, and new arrivals people born in the , which could enhance the school's educational per- may be partly due to the fact immigrants and formance.”⁸ visitors are, on average, younger.”⁵ On the other hand, in deprived areas new But a recent report does find that the arrival waves of migration exacerbated tensions in of immigrants, combined with “the fact that the local community. These were only ad- the supply of NHS services is mostly inelastic dressed by further resources being invested in the short-run,” might cause a rise in in the area. waiting times in deprived areas⁶. The role of mismanagement and under- On the other hand, immigrants make up a funding substantial part of the NHS workforce. The New Labour was (and has admitted to being) Kings Fund notes: “With some key areas of unprepared for EU migration into Britain. It the NHS workforce already in very short sup- failed to consider the impact of EU immigra- ply, this contribution is significant.” tion and what would be needed to ensure it Housing was an overarching benefit, and that second- Recent evidence suggests that immigration ary issues were mitigated. decreases house prices in England and Wales. This lack of preparation and lack of research This impact is likely to be the result of UK- has allowed speculation to develop as to the born residents moving out of the areas with a levels and effects of EU migration – which in large migrant concentration. Whether a de- turn has had a huge effect on community co- crease in house prices is a good or a bad hesion. As Simon McMahon argued for Class thing probably depends on the social demo- in 2015, the public often wildly overestimates graphic of the beholder. the number of migrants in the UK, and con- One thing we can be sure of is that migration siders the cost of EU migration to outweigh is not having any significant effect upon the the benefit. supply of social housing. The foreign-born The government’s unwillingness to resolve population is almost three times as likely to long-term problems such as the lack of social be in the private rental sector (39% were in housing, funding gaps in public services, stag- this sector in the first quarter of 2015), com- nating wages and the neglect of certain pared to the UK-born (14%)⁷. British towns has created a climate in which hostility towards migrants has been allowed to fester.

24 Does the European Union work for working class people? Conclusion ⁴ FullFact (2015) https://fullfact.org/immigration/ impacts-migration-local-public-services/ More research must be done into the materi- al effects of EU migration on British commu- ⁵ King’s Fund Impact of immigration on the NHS nities, so that negative impacts can bemiti- (2015) http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/ gated. verdict/what-do-we-know-about-impact- immigration-nhs But the long-term solution must involve the ⁶ See Vargas Silva, Nicodemo & Giuntella (2015) government investing in infrastructure and The Effects of Immigration on NHS Waiting Times public services, improving wages and ad- https://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/economics/ dressing deprivation in order to reverse the papers/2015/giunt_nic_silva2015.pdf perception that migrants are the cause ofa ⁷ See Migration Observatory http:// lack of resources. www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/ migobs/Briefing%20-%20Migrants%20and% 20Housing%20in%20the%20UK.pdf References ⁸ Hickman, Crowley & Mai Immigration and social ¹ IPPR Free movement and the EU (2016)http:// cohesion in the UK (2008) https://www.jrf.org.uk/ www.ippr.org/publications/free-movement-and- report/immigration-and-social-cohesion-uk the-eu-referendum ⁹ McMahon Too often public opinion about migra- ² Migration Observatory Impacts of Migration on tion is based on false information (2015) http:// Local Public Services (2015) http:// classonline.org.uk/blog/item/too-often-public- www.migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/briefings/ opinion-about-migration-is-based-on-false- election-2015-briefing-impacts-migration-local- information public-services ³ BBC How has immigration changed Britain? (2013) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics- 22339080

“I came to Britain because I wanted a job in the music industry. There aren’t many opportunities in Spain for those kinds of jobs, so I moved to London. I’ve been here for 3 and a half years. I spent my first year working in a restaurant and now I work in a start up for a music app. If Britain left the EU it would make a big impact on my life. There would be a lot of uncertainty. I think people who move to Britain from other EU countries are mainly young people who moved here because of the financial crisis. We don’t rely on public services as much, because we’re young, and we work. There are three-quarters of a million people in Spain, and some Spanish people think the British immigrants are just there to use the health service – which is what a lot of British people say about us!” Irene, marketing

Does the European Union work for working class people? 25 The Centre for Labour and Social Studies (Class) is a think tank established in 2012 to act as a centre for left debate and discussion. Originating in the labour movement, Class works with a broad coalition of supporters, academics and experts to develop and advance alternative policies for today.

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The views, policy proposals and comments in this think piece do not represent the collective views of Class but only the views of the authors. © Class 2016