To all candidates standing for the European Assembly elections on May 22

nd
in the constituency of
Scotland.
Dear Candidate.
As you are no doubt aware, as EU citizens Poles are eligible to vote in in the European Parliamentary
elections in the United Kingdom and in recent months it has been the goal of our organization, the
Polish Cultural Festival Association, to urge UK residents of Polish origin to enrol on the electoral
register in order to participate fully.
We believe that the Polish community is often overlooked when governmental candidates such as
yourselves canvas for votes. This is in spite of the fact that since the decision to open up the UK
labour market to Central European workers in 2004, UK residents of Polish origin have contributed
billions of pounds to the UK economy and the UK exchequer.
In modern Britain, this hard working community provide a much needed skilled workforce within
countless industries including; the health service, the provision of social care, public transport, the
service industries, as well as self-employed tradesmen with businesses throughout the country that
also employ British staff.
Polish businesses are visible in nearly every town centre. There are also Polish churches and Saturday
schools in every large urban centre and, according to the latest IPSOS poll, 73% of Poles in the UK see
their stay in this country as permanent.
The 2011 national census shows a total of 592,583 Polish nationals living in the UK of whom around
67,000 live in your Euro constituency. Polish is now the second most commonly used first language in
Great Britain after the English language. At the same time according to the Guardian Poles are also
the best integrating migrant group in the country. This is proven by the strength of figures in London
where 104,000 are registered to vote out of a population of 155,000. You can assume that around
two-thirds of the Polish population in your euro constituency are eligible to vote for you and your
party.
In view of this, we would like to ask you two questions to assist your Polish voters in making their
choice as to who to vote for:
Question One: Do you consider the presence of UK residents of Polish origin in the UK country as a
positive or negative element in the UK economy and the British social fabric?
Question Two: Are you broadly in favour or against the UKs membership of the European Union,
and the resulting 4 freedoms (free movement of goods, capital, services, and people)?
As an organisation we are politically neutral and will only be informing voters of your responses
without taking a partisan stance as to whom they should vote for.
If you wanted to contact or meet members of our committee Polish Cultural Festival Association,
please feel free to contact me .
We very much look forward to your response and hope that you have a fulfilling experience when
meeting members of the Polish community in the UK during your campaign.
Here is the breakdown of potential UK voters of Polish origin for each euroconstituency. Figures are
based on data provided by the Electoral Commission
Scotland approx. 35000 , North East 8933, North West 53283, Yorkshire and Humber 49673, East
Midlands 55261, West Midlands 54306.
Yours sincerely,
Joanna Zawadzka
Polish Cultural Festival Association / Vote You Are at Home Campaign

Vote You are at Home Campaign is being run voluntarily in Scotland by Polish Cultural Festival
Association, Polish Professionals Forum and Feniks Support and Counselling Services.