Salaries in Poland are about 30% to 40% lower than the UK. And London is the center of many financial jobs that Warsaw just can't compete with.
Also, thanks to the communist system, Poland didn't have the degrading of English schools that happened in teh 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
So Poles are smarter and better educated than Brits -- and this is from a person who has worked and is working with both. The skills, experience and hard-working nature of Poles is not matched by the average Brit.
There ARE exceptions, but they tend to be Indians (Hindu or Catholic) and yes some English and Irish surnamed folks
So you have better educated, better experienced, hard-working folks who are willing to work for a lower salary.
The biggest hit are handymen and plumbers, electricians etc. -- incomes have nearly halved.
There isn't a backlash on religion -- the English mostly have left Christianity so far that they can barely recognize the inside of a church.
Very interesting, thanks. We have a successful Polish electrician living in my subdivision; he’s always looking for new worker. There are also Russians and Ukrainians.