When will people wake up to the fact that we can have ALL the benefits of EU membership and retain parliamentary sovereignty, others do. EU has nothing to do with immigration, we can always allow who we like into the country, the trouble now is we have no control over it. The figures in article are official registrations and all these people are paying tax, eligible for benefits etc. If you look at the breakdown it is skewed towards Admin & Business, because the companies they work for have abide by the rules. I have not heard anyone complaining about this type of worker,why? because they are economically viable and welcome to come. The problem is with those who are not registered, its safe to say that if 19,000 are in hospitality that 2 or 3 times that number, the fact is nobody knows how many, certainly not the govt. That will be untaxed, cheap labour, competeing with the low paid, those on income support and 1m unemployed. Add in a minimum wage and you have another subsidy to teh EU

Tony MvNumpty, London, UK

These migrants seem to think they are doing us a favour.

MARIE LAMB, stockport, England

Well I've got 4 relatives who live (have bought houses) and work abroad (in other EU states), 1 friend currently works in a non-EU European state, another has lived in another EU country for 2 years; several old school friends live in New Zealand and Australia. One friend has bought a retirement house in Spain, another a house in France. Oh, and my wifes friends are moving to Canada, and another friend of hers to Chicago. US migration is 6 times higher than in the EU - get with the program!! Stop being a Cinderella Continent!!

Jon Kingsbury, Southampton, UK

These statistics need to be balanced by how many nationals are leaving the UK to work overseas or retire.
As an island nation we should have exact figures on who is coming in & going out - estimates are not acceptable. We need a proper Coast Guard Service and a department of Home Land Security - the Home Office has failed the nation. The figures published or given to Parliment are white washed and unreliable having been dressed up by civil servants to meet the needs of their political task masters.

Derek Boulter, Sugar Land, Texas, USA

They may be bringing benefits, but whole communities are breaking up with the influx of such numbers of non english speaking people. I'm the outsider in my own town!

James, Reading,

We are constantly being told that immigrant labour benefits this country's economy (maybe, if the employers pay them slave wages and even then the only ones who really gain are their employers because with such low wages the migrant workers cannot be paying much tax in this country or spending much here as they send most of what they earn to their families back home.
As for the immigrants doing the jobs the native population do not want to do I ask: How did Britain manage before? Who did those jobs before mass immigration arrived?
Meanwhile, the native unskilled workers, and many others, are losing their jobs or facing the threat of long term unemployment as they compete for work with migrant workers who are willing (or forced) to accept much lower wages than those who were born here, who always paid their taxes and NI, have a mortgage and a family / children to feed, clothe and educate.
No wonder the English who can are leaving this country and it is not because of the weather.

Madeleine, London,

But why do they get jobs! Because employers know that they will work for their money. Few come here for national health benifits, and a high proportion intend to return home after a few years.

Frances, Shepton Mallet,

Britain should value its highly skilled migrants from outside the EU. As a work permit holder working for a respectable business, I feel deeply frustrated about the change of immigration rules in April 2005. When I first started working here, I was told that I will be able to get my permanent residency in four years. The sudden change of rules means that I have to wait for another year. I can only work for one employer. I pay the same amount of tax as a British citizen but I am not entitled for any benefits. Some highly skilled migrants have to go home after investing their skills here for four years because they only have a four year contract with their employers and their visa can't be renewed. New immigrations rules should not apply to people who are already here. If Britain wants to retain its highly skilled workforce, it should be consistent with its policies on immigration.

Julia Chan, London, UK

When is it going to end.? Britain is only a small country. What have we got to offer them that no other country has - apart from free housing, free benefits, free NHS system? I am desperate to get out of this country now but cannot go because other countries have strict regulations about people entering their country. Why are we letting every Tom, Dick and Harry into this country? Somebody somewhere must be getting a very large back hander!! Politicians do not see the problem as they don't have to live next door to it. We have certain parts of where I live that are out of bounds to anybody remotely white or english because the area has been taken over by rival gangs - how can this be allowed to happen?

Carol, Chatham, Kent

David Davis is correct immigration is benificial for a country as long as it is controlled and that the immigrant has the skills the country needs. Pouring people in at 20,000 a month is plain stupid but what can you expect with a socialist goverment, they just seem to lack any ability to control anything , that is other than taxes.

Barry Holmes, Christchurch, NZ