Hardly a day goes by without somebody commenting to me that Britain seems "awash" with Polish workers - in restaurants, hotels, construction and agriculture.

"Awash" is more neutral and less emotive than "swamped", used by successive generations of politicians to engender fear about "waves" of immigration. But it still says something about popular fears of being "flooded", so it is important to remember that fewer than half a million Poles have come to work in Britain since Poland joined the European Union.

They are by far the largest national group from those countries that joined in May 2004.

Many Poles are young people, willing to work hard for the better wages they receive here than back home. Generally they have been accepted, certainly compared with the reception of refugees and asylum seekers from other countries. Nevertheless, there are continued debates over how open our borders should be, notwithstanding the freedom of movement permitted within the EU, and usually based on distortion of the nature of these groups of "foreigners". Circling around that debate are the vultures and their tired cliches about dole scroungers. In other words, "they" present a threat we need to contain.

The fact is we need these - young - people in our country, just as much as the EU needs people from outside its borders, not least to care for the ageing population and fill segments of the labour market. But such mobility and migration brings with it cultural conflict and tension. In recent years countries as historically tolerant as Denmark and the Netherlands have taken a racist turn. It is not so surprising. Acceptance, even encouragement, of immigration has to be squared with an assertive and proactive approach to thinking about multiculturalism: what should be expected of newcomers; where are the limits of tolerance?

Without the Poles - and others - coming to the UK, parts of the economy would struggle for labour and we would face stagnation. Their arrival yet again prompts a need for deep thinking about how we can live and work together. That global question, particularly post-9/11 and 7/7, is one that ultimately finds answers among young people at the local level.

Howard Williamson is professor of European youth policy at the University of Glamorgan, and a member of the Youth Justice Board. Email howard.williamson@haynet.com.