ABSTRACT
Whereas public debates about immigration to the UK prior to 2004 were typically concerned with the dramatic increase in the number of people claiming asylum that occurred in the late 1990s, recent concerns have instead revolved around the large number of labour migrants who have moved to the UK since the enlargement of the European Union in May 2004. Against this backdrop, the UK government decided in late 2006 to impose restrictions on the number of Romanians and Bulgarians who could move to the UK following their accession to the EU in January 2007. This was in contrast to the decision to grant free labour market access to nationals of the eight Central and Eastern European countries that joined in 2004. One of the aims of this paper is to explore whether this policy reversal was informed by evidence of negative impacts of migration from the A8 states, or whether it was made in response to other factors, such as pressure from the tabloid media.
