<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>24743.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Nov 19, 2009
NEWS ANALYSIS
Immigration curbs: Brown's last stand?
British PM making a desperate bid for votes
<!-- by line -->By Jonathan Eyal, Straits Times Europe Bureau
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
THE British government's recent pledge to tighten immigration rules was branded by the country's main opposition party as just a 'hollow exercise'.
Reacting to an announcement made last week about an impending clampdown on the number of foreigners allowed to enter Britain, the Conservatives' chief spokesman on home affairs, Mr Chris Grayling, accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of an attempt to 'cover up a deliberate policy of increasing immigration', and of 'having no idea about how to deal with the whole question'.
Immigration has long been a controversial topic in Britain, but mainstream politicians have shied away from dealing with the issue, particularly during election time. Yet, barely six months before the country goes to the polls, Mr Brown vowed to cut the number of workers recruited from abroad, tighten visa requirements for students, and introduce an 'apprenticeship' for those seeking citizenship.
He rejected accusations that he is engaged in a bit of populism. The subject is 'not taboo', and it is the duty of politicians to reflect the people's concerns, he added.
The Prime Minister spoke of the need for foreigners to demonstrate a commitment to 'values' before they are allowed entry into 'our British family home'. He announced plans to speed up improvements in education for native Britons, so that 'we will rely less on overseas labour'. And, just in case his patriotism was still not evident, he delivered his speech last week at Southall, in the historic heart of London's Indian community.
Overall net immigration into Britain was actually down last year by a whopping 44 per cent, partly due to the introduction of a points-based visa system which discriminates in favour of skilled migrants and which has been progressively tightened.
But Britain's current economic woes have pushed the question of immigration to the top of the political agenda. A recent public opinion poll has found that 22 per cent of the electorate would 'seriously consider' voting for the British National Party, which rejects all foreigners and accepts only 'indigenous Caucasians' in its ranks.
The BNP has few chances of gaining even one parliamentary seat: Britain's electoral system remains tough on political newcomers. Nevertheless, internal polling done by Mr Brown's ruling Labour Party indicates that worries about immigration may prompt many voters to defect, handing over a hundred Labour-controlled constituencies to the opposition Conservatives. Unsurprisingly, therefore, flag-waving has become part of the government's survival strategy.
But this may not improve Mr Brown's political fortunes, for the electorate is not only angry about current migration trends, but also resents the Labour Party's entire record on this score. When Labour came to power in 1997, foreign-born workers came to only 8 per cent of the British labour force. Today, the figure is 13 per cent and rising.
The immigration machinery is riddled with red tape. And the policing of the system is almost non-existent: Only 114 prosecutions have been recorded since criminal penalties were introduced for employers hiring illegal immigrants a decade ago.
In short, the system is neither fair nor transparent or efficient. By jumping on the nationalist bandwagon without tackling such urgent problems, Mr Brown may end up with the worst of all worlds.
The mainstream opposition is unimpressed: It wants strict limits on the overall number of future migrants. Racist politicians advocate a halt to all immigration, including that from the European Union.
And, by concentrating on just policing Britain's outer frontiers, Mr Brown dismisses the real contribution migrants make. Most are young and pay more tax than the average Briton. Foreign students also pay very high tuition fees.
And there are more Britons living overseas - about 5.5 million - than there are foreign-born people living in Britain. So much for the myth of 'overcrowded Britain'.
But politicians staring at certain electoral defeat are less concerned with facts; they desperately clutch at any straw. And few British leaders are more desperate now than Mr Brown.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
NEWS ANALYSIS
Immigration curbs: Brown's last stand?
British PM making a desperate bid for votes
<!-- by line -->By Jonathan Eyal, Straits Times Europe Bureau
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
THE British government's recent pledge to tighten immigration rules was branded by the country's main opposition party as just a 'hollow exercise'.
Reacting to an announcement made last week about an impending clampdown on the number of foreigners allowed to enter Britain, the Conservatives' chief spokesman on home affairs, Mr Chris Grayling, accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of an attempt to 'cover up a deliberate policy of increasing immigration', and of 'having no idea about how to deal with the whole question'.
Immigration has long been a controversial topic in Britain, but mainstream politicians have shied away from dealing with the issue, particularly during election time. Yet, barely six months before the country goes to the polls, Mr Brown vowed to cut the number of workers recruited from abroad, tighten visa requirements for students, and introduce an 'apprenticeship' for those seeking citizenship.
He rejected accusations that he is engaged in a bit of populism. The subject is 'not taboo', and it is the duty of politicians to reflect the people's concerns, he added.
The Prime Minister spoke of the need for foreigners to demonstrate a commitment to 'values' before they are allowed entry into 'our British family home'. He announced plans to speed up improvements in education for native Britons, so that 'we will rely less on overseas labour'. And, just in case his patriotism was still not evident, he delivered his speech last week at Southall, in the historic heart of London's Indian community.
Overall net immigration into Britain was actually down last year by a whopping 44 per cent, partly due to the introduction of a points-based visa system which discriminates in favour of skilled migrants and which has been progressively tightened.
But Britain's current economic woes have pushed the question of immigration to the top of the political agenda. A recent public opinion poll has found that 22 per cent of the electorate would 'seriously consider' voting for the British National Party, which rejects all foreigners and accepts only 'indigenous Caucasians' in its ranks.
The BNP has few chances of gaining even one parliamentary seat: Britain's electoral system remains tough on political newcomers. Nevertheless, internal polling done by Mr Brown's ruling Labour Party indicates that worries about immigration may prompt many voters to defect, handing over a hundred Labour-controlled constituencies to the opposition Conservatives. Unsurprisingly, therefore, flag-waving has become part of the government's survival strategy.
But this may not improve Mr Brown's political fortunes, for the electorate is not only angry about current migration trends, but also resents the Labour Party's entire record on this score. When Labour came to power in 1997, foreign-born workers came to only 8 per cent of the British labour force. Today, the figure is 13 per cent and rising.
The immigration machinery is riddled with red tape. And the policing of the system is almost non-existent: Only 114 prosecutions have been recorded since criminal penalties were introduced for employers hiring illegal immigrants a decade ago.
In short, the system is neither fair nor transparent or efficient. By jumping on the nationalist bandwagon without tackling such urgent problems, Mr Brown may end up with the worst of all worlds.
The mainstream opposition is unimpressed: It wants strict limits on the overall number of future migrants. Racist politicians advocate a halt to all immigration, including that from the European Union.
And, by concentrating on just policing Britain's outer frontiers, Mr Brown dismisses the real contribution migrants make. Most are young and pay more tax than the average Briton. Foreign students also pay very high tuition fees.
And there are more Britons living overseas - about 5.5 million - than there are foreign-born people living in Britain. So much for the myth of 'overcrowded Britain'.
But politicians staring at certain electoral defeat are less concerned with facts; they desperately clutch at any straw. And few British leaders are more desperate now than Mr Brown.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
