Jonathan Wadsworth, one of the authors of the CEP report and a former member of the government’s Migration Advisory Committee, says: “There is still no evidence of an overall negative impact of immigration on jobs, [or] wages.”

Do low-skilled UK citizens bear the brunt of EU migration?

A number of studies have found there is a small negative effect of migration on the wages of low-skilled workers — those with whom migrants compete most directly.

Research published last year by Sir Stephen Nickell of the Office for Budget Responsibility suggested there was a small negative effect of migration on the wages of locals in the semi-skilled and unskilled service sector — such as care workers, shop assistants, restaurant and bar workers.

Mr Portes of the NIESR thinks Sir Stephen’s research results are nevertheless small. “The impact of migration on the wages of the UK-born in this sector since 2004 has been about 1 per cent, over a period of eight years,” he says.

While not disputing Mr Portes’ assessment, Professor Ian Preston of University College London notes that the government could nonetheless improve the outcome for the low paid. The role of government should be “to see that the long-term benefits [of immigration] are enjoyed widely and the negative effects on those whose lives may be disrupted are recognised and addressed,” he says.

What effect do migrants have on public services and the public finances?

Recent EU migrants have typically been relatively young and are more likely to be in work than the local population. Consequently, they place less demand on many public services, are less likely to receive benefits and pay higher levels of taxes on average than UK citizens do.

Professor Christian Dustmann of University College London has found that between 2001 and 2011, the net fiscal contribution of migrants from the ten central and eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 or 2007 was almost £5 billion. Over the same period, British citizens received more in public spending than they paid in tax.

But this sort of comparison provides a partial picture. New migrants are young and likely to be employed. Locals with the same characteristics will also place a relatively low average demand on the public purse. If migrants stay in Britain into old age — when they may start to draw more heavily on health services and public pensions — their net contribution is likely to diminish.