This chapter explores the media's influence on migration policy. The UK press regularly reports on the subject of migration. While The Financial Times, the Economist, and The Times (Duvell and Jordan, 2003, p 319) strongly support economic migration, the majority of migration coverage is negative, often connoted with crime, security and social welfare benefits (ICAR, 2005b). This has led some commentators to suggest the media is a malign influence on migration policy development (ICAR, 2005b). Stanley Cohen (2002a) goes further, stating that the coverage of asylum resembles a ‘moral panic’, with one differentiating factor – the asylum moral panic is ongoing (his definition of moral panics are that they are temporal spasms).

The policy makers interviewed for this book, especially politicians and those representing politicians, decried the influence of tabloid newspapers, such as the Sun and particularly the Daily Mail and the Daily Express. Politicians stated that they had no room to manoeuvre or that if they were to take a particular policy line, they would have the proverbial Mail reader on their backs. The media itself claims it has a direct effect on policy. Editors of newspapers have, for example, trumpeted success in changing immigration policy – the ‘Sun Wot Won It’ claim.

In much of the literature on media and policy, it is difficult to determine whether the media directly affects policy or reinforces negative attitudes towards immigrants that subsequently influence policy. The media may ‘frame’ issues, set the agenda (McCombs, 1994), or cement stereotypes, possibly racist ones (Hall, 1981). The interplay between government image management (spin) and the media makes it difficult to assess the influence of the latter on policy development. However, the effect of the media, in certain instances, is undeniable. Several examples could be used to illustrate a direct media effect on policy. The following examines the Worker Registration Scheme.

A case study of the media having a direct effect

The Worker Registration Scheme (WRS), designed and implemented in 2004, requires nationals of eight of the countries who joined the EU in May 2004 (referred to as the A-8) to register in order to work. After one year of employment, A-8 nationals are allowed to claim unemployment benefits, but only if they are registered. In essence, the WRS was set up to prevent welfare ‘scrounging’.