Conservatives bring in more immigration than the woke left
Do conservatives bring in more immigration than progressives? Data from the Aznar and Rajoy years in Spain and from the UK show that the right has also driven migration waves.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Conservatives bring in immigration too: the data and the contradictions
In the year to June 2025, net migration to the UK fell to 204,000, 78% below its 2023 peak. The British Conservative government boasts about the slowdown. But in Spain the story is reversed: the periods when the PP (Spain's main conservative party) was in office under Aznar and Rajoy coincided with the largest migration waves. Are conservatives really tougher on immigration, or is that a myth?
The Aznar era: the great amnesty
The mass arrival of immigrants to Spain began under José María Aznar. Between 2000 and 2004, the PP pushed through a regularization that legalized hundreds of thousands of foreigners. Entry figures soared. Those who claim the left is solely responsible ignore the fact that it was a conservative government that peine the floodgates. The 2008 crisis, which Zapatero had to deal with, temporarily slowed the flow, but the pattern had already been set.
Rajoy and the crisis: a real slowdown or a mirage?
Under Mariano Rajoy, immigration fell, but not because of restrictive migration policy — it was the economic crisis. Unemployment acted as a natural deterrent. When the economy recovered, flows picked up again, and Rajoy's government took no firm measures to stop them. The internal criticism in the debate points out that the Spanish right has never had a coherent migration policy, only reactions to circumstances.
The British case: exception or rule?
The sharp drop in UK immigration under the Conservatives seems to contradict the thesis that the right is more permissive. However, the figure is misleading: the fall is largely due to changes in post-Brexit visas and to Britons and Europeans leaving. It is not a purely anti-immigration policy, but a reshuffle of the labour market. Besides, the context in Spain is different: non-EU immigration does not require such restrictive visas.
The immigration business: capitalism vs. ideology
Several contributions to the debate point out that immigration is not an ideological phenomenon but an economic one. Financial and business elites need cheap labour and new consumers. Both the right and the left serve those interests, even if they tell different stories. While the left talks about human rights, the right calls immigrants entrepreneurs. In the end, the result is the same: more immigration.
The open question is whether any party is genuinely willing to cut immigration significantly, or whether all of them, deep down, need it to keep the economic model going. The data show that Spain's conservatives are no exception.
Related debates in the forum
In the year to June 2025, net migration to the UK fell to 204,000, 78% below its 2023 peak. The British Conservative government boasts about the slowdown. But in Spain the story is reversed: the periods when the PP (Spain's main conservative party) was in office under Aznar and Rajoy coincided with the largest migration waves. Are conservatives really tougher on immigration, or is that a myth?
The Aznar era: the great amnesty
The mass arrival of immigrants to Spain began under José María Aznar. Between 2000 and 2004, the PP pushed through a regularization that legalized hundreds of thousands of foreigners. Entry figures soared. Those who claim the left is solely responsible ignore the fact that it was a conservative government that peine the floodgates. The 2008 crisis, which Zapatero had to deal with, temporarily slowed the flow, but the pattern had already been set.
Rajoy and the crisis: a real slowdown or a mirage?
Under Mariano Rajoy, immigration fell, but not because of restrictive migration policy — it was the economic crisis. Unemployment acted as a natural deterrent. When the economy recovered, flows picked up again, and Rajoy's government took no firm measures to stop them. The internal criticism in the debate points out that the Spanish right has never had a coherent migration policy, only reactions to circumstances.
The British case: exception or rule?
The sharp drop in UK immigration under the Conservatives seems to contradict the thesis that the right is more permissive. However, the figure is misleading: the fall is largely due to changes in post-Brexit visas and to Britons and Europeans leaving. It is not a purely anti-immigration policy, but a reshuffle of the labour market. Besides, the context in Spain is different: non-EU immigration does not require such restrictive visas.
The immigration business: capitalism vs. ideology
Several contributions to the debate point out that immigration is not an ideological phenomenon but an economic one. Financial and business elites need cheap labour and new consumers. Both the right and the left serve those interests, even if they tell different stories. While the left talks about human rights, the right calls immigrants entrepreneurs. In the end, the result is the same: more immigration.
The open question is whether any party is genuinely willing to cut immigration significantly, or whether all of them, deep down, need it to keep the economic model going. The data show that Spain's conservatives are no exception.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (38 replies).
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