Poll stokes fears over influx of EU migrants

An initial survey carried out for Newsnight by polling company Vitosha found that one in four people in the country wanted to take advantage of a relaxation in restrictions that come into effect in January.

A second survey carried out a month later, in March, to delve into what concrete plans people were making, found that 4.7 per cent were in contact with people in the UK about moving over, while 2.8 per cent were in contact with recruitment agencies.

The UK was the first-choice country to move to for 9.3 per cent of Bulgarians and 4.6 per cent of Romanians. A survey in Romania for the programme, carried out by Gallup, found that 1.5 per cent were in contact with people in the UK about moving and 0.3 per cent were in touch with recruitment agencies, while 0.7 per cent were looking for work independently.

Work restrictions were placed on Romania and Bulgaria when they joined the European Union in 2007, but they end this year.

The surveys of more than 1,000 people in each country must be treated with caution, according to analysts. Peter Flade, director of Gallup UK, said: “I think the sample sizes are a bit small to say specifically the numbers who are coming.”

The poll comes as MPs prepare to debate the possible impact of immigration from Bulgaria and Romania.

Conservative MP Mark Pritchard said: “There are genuine concerns about the number of new Romanian and Bulgarian migrants likely to enter Britain when the transitional border controls are lifted later this year. EU migration has brought many benefits to Britain – but there are also dis-benefits.

“This is a debate that needs to be had – and meaningful policies put in place to protect  social cohesion, public services, and to restore public trust in a workable, credible and well-managed migration and immigration system.”