UNITED KINGDOM MIGRATION POLICY AND MIGRATION FROM UKRAINE (1990–2020)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the formation and evolution of migration policy of British governments at the present stage. It is noted that migration processes are one of the main features of globalization. It is also claimed that the UK has always attracted migrants from different parts of the world, especially from the post-colonial countries and Eastern Europe. As a migration project, it has always been characterized by a high standard of living and a high level of wages in the European Union. However, as a member of the European Community until 2019, Britain has always differed from its European partners in its autonomy and separateness, particularly in the field of immigration policy.
The author analyzes the current migration laws passed by the British governments from 1990 to 2020. The active development of migration legislation began during the premiership of the conservative John Major (1990–1997). Therefore, the Conservative government has taken steps only in the direction of quota migration flows. It was determined that the basic purpose of the migration legislation of the United Kingdom was the governments’ ability to comprehensively address the migration problem as a threat to national security. It was officially recognized during the reign of Gordon Brown (2007–2010). It has been proven that the priorities in the UK’s migration policy have been the issues of restraining and controlling the flow of immigrants, in particular their consequences for immigrants from Ukraine. Special attention is paid to the migration component of the Labor government of Tony Blair (1997–2007) and the Conservative government of Theresa May (2016–2019) as the most loyal and hostile cabinet ministers on immigration. The competition between the party principles of controlled (Labor) and rigid (Conservative) migration under their rule has led to the adoption of new laws. In essence and content, they were designed to cope with the growing migration crisis in the country. The importance of the media and information propaganda in the reflection of immigration as a trend of British domestic policy and a key cause of Brexit (2016–2019) is emphasized.