Each week, Prospect asks five experts, and our readers, to come with answers to the questions dominating the headlines.

Immigration is rarely out of the news agenda, and will only get more coverage as we approach the next election; according to YouGov, voters consistently rank it as one of the most important issues affecting the country. This week, though, there was a reminder that immigration brings many economic benefits, in the form of a new report from UCL which found that EU immigrants contributed around £20bn to the economy between 2000 and 2011. Objections to immigration are complex, and can never be reduced to the purely financial.

Demand accountability

Since I was a boy immigrants have been the low hanging fruit that politicians and less reputable media outlets pick when they want to wind up the electorate. I can assure you—because I have lived through times that have been more difficult than today—that immigrants have always made our country stronger financially and contributed beneficially to our society's culture. The only way ordinary people are going to realise that their lifestyles are not under threat from immigrants is when companies and councils start creating venues for everyone to meet and discuss the benefit the immigrants bring to communities. But before that, they must demand accountability from our politicians and media. If we allow those who spread hate and misinformation to set the agenda on immigration we will always be a nation that rejects progress for prejudice. Harry Leslie Smith, author of Harry's Last Stand (Icon Books)

Leave the EU

First, we must control our borders. In fairness to the government, we've moved towards something rather like a points based system for non-EU migration. But that has been negated by the fact that 400m people from the EU have a legal right to move here. The technology is there to solve this problem; every day in London hundreds of thousands of people log in and out with oyster cards. It ought to be possible to log in and out when crossing our borders. Only when we have a government with the will to control our borders, we can begin to address some of the issues of social cohesion and identity that desperately need a sensible conversation. Both Switzerland and Australia create an amazing sense of national identity, albeit in very different ways, and they're both outside the EU. I want a bit of that for my country—we could do even better. But only from outside the EU. Douglas Carswell, Ukip MP for Clacton

Big facts

Top foreign languages spoken here: Polish, Punjabi and Urdu (2011 Census)

Immigrants 60 per cent less likely to claim benefits than native Britons (UCL)

Proportion of our population that is foreign-born: 13 per cent—double the 1991 figure (Migrationwatch)

In the Year ending June 2014 there were 12, 415 forced removals from the UK. There were 37,216 voluntary departures and 14, 671 passengers refused entry and deported (Home Office)

Stats won't help

The first and most important thing to do is stop believing that economic statistics alone will change opinions. Opposition to immigration isn't about GDP or productivity. It's about personal experience, both real and imagined. Accepting that some people just aren't happy with the society they now think they live in—regardless of its aggregate prosperity—is the first step to persuading them they're wrong. In terms off policy, the most urgent need is a new system of local government financing to ensure that public services in areas with high migration benefit directly and quickly and visibly from migrants' tax contributions. James Kirkup, Executive Editor—politics at Telegraph Media Group

Grown-up conversation

The key thing is to have a grown-up conversation about immigration, because at the moment the conversation is appealing to the lowest common denominator. The stats are distorted so the average person on the street thinks immigration is much higher than it is. The focus is so narrow that it's like dancing on a pinhead. We are treating immigration as if it exists in a vacuum, completely blind to the fact that, while people often don't want to leave their country, they do so because they want to feel safe. Immigration is partly caused by wars and injustices, which are part of a global geopolitical conversation that we just aren't having. Hannah Pool, journalist, author and curator

Regain control

People will always be wary of large scale immigration. Today's anxieties are exaggerated, not irrational—it brings few benefits to the average citizen and means extra pressure on infrastructure and over-rapid change. Smaller inflows is the best way to change attitudes: when numbers were much lower in the mid-1990s so was anxiety. There also needs to be a sense of control: an immigration ministry and better funded border controls (now just 0.3 per cent of public spending). Yes, we must point out that about half of inflows is “good” immigration—students and professionals—and be honest about EU flows. But we should also explain things can be made fairer with achievable reform. David Goodhart, Chair of Demos and Editor-at-large of Prospect

This week's Big Question is edited by Josh Lowe

Reader responses

@prospect_uk more responsible and accurate media coverage would be a good start for having an honest debate about #immigration

— Oula Kadhum (@OulaKadhum) November 7, 2014