Tag Archives: polish citizens

From selling donuts to being “chained”, and why this is not about the “Mayoral jewellery”

By Michal Siewniak | Wed 27th May 2026 - 8:55 am

It was 21 years ago next month, when I landed at Stansted. I remember, as it almost happened yesterday. I didn’t think too much about it. My wife and I had a plan, stay a few months and go back to Croatia, where I had a job waiting for me. We came not for any employment reasons, but initially to visit our friend, who is a Catholic Priest.

21 years later, we are still here! We packed 26 years of our lives in a rucksack and we tried, like many, to build our lives in the UK. We have never lived anywhere else, always here in a fantastic Welwyn Garden City. We made it our home. We’ve had ups and downs, moments when we doubted whether it was a good decision to stay in the UK. We struggled to enjoy mince pies at the beginning and I am still struggling to accept that many Brits drink tea with milk. Yes, it is drunk with lemon! However, we always tried to do our best; to integrate, but most importantly to contribute in a number of different ways. This hasn’t changed.

Although I am politically minded, my decision to stand in the Local Elections wasn’t necessarily driven by politics as much. As a keen activist, I was keen to demonstrate that we all have a unique set of skills, often different, but we all have a lot to give. Throughout my years in the UK, but also previously in Poland, Croatia and Italy, I felt a sense of service and desire to, collectively, build bridges not walls, always seek opportunities to make a difference, empower, inspire and motivate others to do the same. We have achieved so much. I also wanted to challenge stereotypes and assumptions. Guess what? I might be Polish but I have no manual skills.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged immigration and Local government | 11 Comments

Why so many Poles have already left Britain?

By Michal Siewniak | Mon 15th March 2021 - 4:44 pm

I was delighted to receive an email this week from a good friend of mine, Roger Casale, founder of the New Europeans and also a former Member of the UK Parliament.

Roger emailed to say that one of his colleagues, Peter Conradi, who is Sunday Times Europe’s Editor, was running a story this weekend about the reasons why so many Poles have already left the UK. I was really pleased that I had an opportunity to speak to Peter and that the article itself was published in yesterday’s paper. It was a fascinating conversation, which, probably for the first time, helped me to pause and reflect on the causes of the Polish nationals’ departure from the UK. This trend has already directly affected many of my fellow countrymen and countrywomen.

It is estimated that almost a million Poles lived in the UK before the Brexit vote. Some, mainly anecdotal evidence, suggests that around 200,000 members of the Polish community have now left the UK. It is a significant exodus of Poles, which, in my view, might continue in the future. So what are the reasons why people have left or are leaving?