Go west young man

As May 1 draws ever closer, acres of space in the UK's newspapers are being filled by reporters and editors eager either to reassure or scare their readers regarding EU expansion, depending on the view of the proprietor.

This week we look at an article on worker-migration to the UK that was surprising for a number of reasons. Firstly, it appeared in a paper that is part of Associated Newspapers, the stable that includes the myopically right-wing Daily Mail, whose pages are crammed with the kind of anti-European drivel that would make any little-Englander proud. Secondly, the article dealt with Polish workers going to the UK in an almost sympathetic light, a striking indication of a change in approach.

The paper concerned, The London Evening Standard, is also very right-wing in its political views but, as its audience is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, it is more tolerant on ethnicity. The article was unimaginatively entitled 'Next stopski London!' and dealt with Marcin and Lucasz (sic) as they boarded a coach at Warsaw West bus station bound for London. By the way, for those readers who may not know, the British use the suffix '-ski' on a word to denote a Polish connection. Although many say the British have a well-developed sense of humor, this must surely be the exception that proves the rule.

Marcin and Lucasz talked about how they were going to the UK to work on the black market in the construction industry, and explained that the lifting of restrictions on May 1 will make little difference to them. Like thousands of others, they go to make good money for a while, then return home. Marcin said that on a building site in Poland he's lucky to earn zł.500 a week; in London he can make zł.7,000. Similarly, also on the bus was Andrzej, previously earning zł.800 a month in a pizzeria, who's more than happy to work illegally on UK farms for several times that amount - even though that figure itself is only a little over half the legal minimum wage in Britain.

The ruses these migrants employ to get round immigration control at Dover are nothing new: letters from Polish friends in the UK inviting them for a week's holiday (with return coach ticket in support); false enrollment certificates from non-existent language schools; although most simply say they are on holiday. But nearly all consider the risk to be minimal; from the thousands of Poles that tried to enter Britain last year, only 90 were turned back.

While starting from the usual angle of Britain being seen by foreigners as a soft touch, the article then took a left turn and considered, seriously, the implications of EU accession on the labor markets. By speaking to a director of a Warsaw-based recruitment agency, quoting a recent Wprost survey, and questioning an official at the Polish Labor Ministry, a picture soon emerged that poured water on right-wing British fears of hordes of Poles flooding in to the UK after accession. Most experts expect the situation to remain relatively stable; Poles who want to work abroad already do so and, when pushed, those who say they would seldom have fixed plans. And of course, there are also other countries in the world to which Poles might wish to travel.

Although there is doubtless much still to be said in the on-going debate in the British press about worker-migration from Eastern Europe (and whether to try to prevent it), the fact that an Associated Newspapers' paper is carrying stories presenting the issue in a positive light is a remarkable step in the right direction.

Chris Wells takes a valorous vagabondage through what the world's English-language press are saying about Poland