The government absurdly claims that its plan for non-UK national arrivals (still on a massive scale) delivers ‘firmer’ control of immigration. Meanwhile, the Home Secretary dodged answering a question on whether immigration would be reduced, dismissing it as the ‘language of old’. This was not what she said in February last year or indeed what she and the PM were saying during the 2019 election campaign. This is an insult to the electorate and the 30 million people who think immigration has been too high (see the transcript here and our response here). The cringe-inducing answer summed up why the evasive, PR-tested soundbites accompanying the government’s plans are smoke and mirrors. In truth, after 20 years in which non-UK net migration averaged nearly 300,000 per year, the scrapping of work visa safeguards make it easier for those in 80% of the world’s countries to come here to work. We have a government that promised priority for UK residents, while opening up the country to many millions from around the globe (with significantly fewer safeguards), and a multitude of extra uncapped routes (including one into the lowest-paid jobs) during a jobs crisis. Our leaders saying one thing at election time and doing another once elected simply eats away at the trust we had been persuaded to place in them. We may have left the European Union, but the practices of the unelected European Commission, which we thought we had left behind, are alive and kicking in Westminster and Whitehall.
Blog of the week
In March 2021 the Home Office rightly said: “It is not in the national interest that individuals who have been found to have no basis to stay in the UK, are able to continue to stay in the UK, accessing support from the state while not co-operating with immigration directions.” However, now it appears from media reporting that the government is making a U-turn on its previous pledge to stop providing taxpayer-funded housing to an unknown portion of the 40,000 failed asylum seekers in the UK who have no right to be here. The Home Office won’t even tell us how many of those refused asylum are being housed. The public deserve to know. In the absence of the government’s openness on this topic, you might like to read our 2020 take on this issue here
Migration Watch in the media
Our Chairman Alp Mehmet has been in the media over the past week. See below:
Talk Radio: Priti Patel vows reform of ‘broken’ immigration system
‘There is no system in place at the moment that is going to lower immigration, and stop people coming here being prepared to work for less money in more difficult conditions. That’s what the system was supposed to do, and it most certainly will not do.’
‘On average, after they have completed their sentences, it takes something like five months for them to go back. I would say, why doesn’t the government start the process for removal sooner, rather than seemingly leaving it to the last moment. It’s not good enough, We can compel them and we must compel them, and it’s not happening.’
‘As I’ve said many times before, this is not a question of having the right laws, it’s about enforcement. Removals are down, and enforcement is withering. No wonder the number of illegal Channel crossings number is going up.’
Click here to see our Channel Tracking Station for the latest on illegal crossings.
Make your voice heard
As already noted, the government’s own stated aims with its new immigration plans have now dropped the pre-election promises of a ‘reduction’ in immigration. As already mentioned, when asked about this following her speech this week, the Home Secretary casually gave an evasive answer.
Help us to continue to hold the government to account and write to your MP today.
We must defend democracy and the will of the people.