MPs debate immigration curbs plan

MPs are to debate government plans to toughen up the immigration system by making landlords question tenants about their status and cutting bank account access for those in the UK illegally. Ministers also want to make it easier to deport foreign criminals and cut the number of grounds for appeal.

Home Secretary Theresa May has said the changes will put the system "on the side" of those who abide by the law.

The government's plans, announced earlier this month, include:

• Making temporary residents, such as students, pay towards care provided by the NHS
• Powers to check driving licence applicants' immigration status
• Cutting the number of deportation decisions that can be appealed against from 17 to four
• Clamping down on people who try to gain an immigration advantage by entering into a "sham" marriage or civil partnership
• Requiring banks to check against a database of known immigration offenders before opening bank accounts

But of course Labour has tabled several amendments to the Immigration Bill. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper will propose several amendments, including:

• Making it illegal for employers deliberately to run shifts only for foreign workers or segregate shifts by nationality
• Banning unsuitable accommodation being used as tied housing to offset the minimum wage
• Making it illegal for recruitment agencies to target and recruit only foreign workers
• Setting a maximum fine of £30,000 for employing illegal immigrants

 

I think that it is worthy of note that it appears to me that all the Coalition’s proposals are aimed at the individual immigrant while all of Labours amendments are aimed at businesses and employers.

Where was Labour’s zeal for this kind of legislation when they were in office? Having finally sensed that the public want a sensible, measured and above all controlled approach to immigration they now find themselves without their massive majority, which enabled them to totally ignore voters and do what they liked and are therefore forced into a position where they have to woo the electorate with proposals that go against the grain and must leave such a nasty taste in their mouths. They seek to mollify their distress by taking up their default position of condemning capitalism and strangling those who generate jobs and wealth. 

I am only worried about their proposals in that, like all Labour promises when they are in opposition; if they get back into government they will disappear like fairy gold, never to be seen again.

In my opinion reforms to the immigration system can't come soon enough. The people of the UK are not racist; the majority of them remain tolerant and welcoming to anyone who wants to come and make a life here, as long as they play by the rules. The problem has been that the previous Labour administrations abandoned any form of immigration policy in favour of an "Open Doors" policy in a blatant attempt to stuff the ballot box. They also sought to replace the tolerance of the British people with their doctrines of Multiculturalism, Political Correctness, Human Rights and a pandering to minorities, giving them privileges and rights without any responsibilities.

Let's have a sensible policy that determines who is eligible to come here and gives us the power to monitor and control our boarders.