Migrants take the high road to better quality of life in Scotland

Published on Saturday 5 January 2008 19:28

SCOTLAND is becoming increasingly attractive to an army of migrants from south of the border, new figures reveal.

Almost 60,000 people are moving to Scotland from the rest of the UK every year, attracted by the quality of life and relative affordability of housing.

The influx means that although the country's birth rate is failing to keep up with deaths, the population is growing slightly.

Experts said the migration is too widespread to threaten any real dilution of Scotland's distinctive culture.

The figures were published by the Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBoS), based on information from the Office for National Statistics. In the decade between 1996 and 2006, a total of 589,245 people moved to Scotland, mainly from England. In the same period, 487,528 Scots left for other parts of the UK.

Martin Ellis, chief economist at HBoS, said: "In overall population terms, the last decade has seen a relatively-small increase in Scotland, which marks a reversal of the previous trend which saw population decline north of the border.

"Interestingly, the growth in Scotland's population is being fuelled mostly by incomers from other parts of the UK."

Younger people were lured by the thriving economy, Ellis said. "The booming financial services sector has seen thousands of jobs relocated from London to Edinburgh and Glasgow. The relative affordability of housing in Scotland is also a significant attraction.

"Quality of life is the chief attraction for families, who can enjoy the slower pace of Scotland's uncrowded Highlands and small towns. And Scotland also has strong appeal for older people who have perhaps capitalised in the rise in value of their properties." Scotland's population is becoming more mixed but, Ellis believes, not enough to threaten the Scottish identity.

Other figures show some startling trends in England. Over the last decade 4.5 million people have fled London but have been replaced by migrants from other parts of the UK and overseas. Most are young people seeking work.

Later this year, Birmingham, which has a large Asian community, could become the first UK city which no longer has a majority white population.