Wednesday 23 March 2005

Mr Blair - All talk on Asylum & Immigration

New figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that Britain still accepts more asylum seekers than almost all other industrialised countries.

Why Labour are all talk
After eight years in power, and just months before an election, Mr Blair claims that he can fix our chaotic immigration system. People will see that as all talk.
• Mr Blair said: ‘Every country must have firm control over immigration and Britain is no exception’ (Labour Manifesto, 97).
• Mr Blair recently proposed a points system which would: ‘only allow into Britain the people and skills our economy needs’ (Home Office, Controlling Our Borders: Making Migration Work for Britain, Five Year Strategy for Asylum and Immigration, Feb 05). But the proposed points system will enforce no annual limit – the Government has simply repackaged and tinkered with the existing arrangements.
• Mr Blair said: ‘There is no, and should be no, tolerance of abuses [of the immigration system]’ (BBC News Online, 7 Apr 04).
• But the Government itself has abused the system. Mr Blair’s former Home Secretary said: ‘I’ve doubled the number of work permits this year to 150,000… so that we can open up those opportunities rather than literally hundreds of thousands of people working illegally’ (David Blunkett, Speech to the Social Market Foundation, 26 Jun 02).
• The number of work permits has almost quadrupled since 1997.
• The number of grants of settlement, which allow those who have worked in the UK for four years to settle permanently, has almost tripled under Labour.

Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats want to surrender Britain’s asylum and immigration policies to the European Union and want to remove the control that Britain has over its borders.

What will Conservatives do?
The Conservatives believe we need a fair immigration and asylum system that helps genuine refugees and gives priority to those who want to work hard and make a positive contribution.
• A Conservative Government will set an annual maximum limit on the number who can settle in Britain, including a quota for asylum seekers.
• Britain will take her fair share of the world’s genuine refugees. We have a moral obligation to help those fleeing persecution.
• Conservatives will introduce an Australian-style points system for work permits – giving priority to people with the skills Britain needs.
• We will ensure that where work permits are temporary, they carry no presumption of a right to settle permanently in the UK.
• We will put in place 24-hour security at ports to prevent illegal immigration.
• We will put in place effective health checks for those coming to the United Kingdom.
People have a clear choice: controlled and limited immigration with the Conservatives or unlimited immigration under Mr Blair and the Liberal Democrats.

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