Gordon Brown pledges fair immigration system
A re-elected Labour government will deliver a “controlled and fair” immigration system flexible enough to meet the needs of British business, Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to promise.
By contrast, he will argue that Conservative plans for an annual cap on non-EU migrants would be arbitrary, unworkable and bad for business.
In his third major speech on immigration since becoming PM, Mr Brown will acknowledge that the question of who comes to Britain is a reasonable issue for voters to consider in the upcoming general election and will say that it is right for politicians to address their concerns.
But he will attack those who he says are, for political reasons, spreading the impression that immigration is “out of control”. Figures show that in fact, inward migration is clearly falling over recent years, he will say.
The PM will call on all mainstream parties to present “a united front” against those who seek to bring a halt to immigration simply because of their animosity towards migrants.
“The question is who has the best plan to control immigration – not who can appeal to our worst instincts of nationalism and xenophobia, but who can appeal to our best instincts of a fairer Britain for all,” Mr Brown is expected to say.
“By controlling immigration for a fairer Britain – by investing in the skills of our own workforce, we can ensure the flexibility for our businesses to secure the highly skilled migrants they need while continuing to maintain control of net inward migration. Or we can opt for an arbitrary and unworkable quota – and deny our businesses the skills they need, damaging our competitiveness and threatening the future of British businesses. This is the practical choice people must make.”
Mr Brown’s comments, in a high-profile speech alongside Home Secretary Alan Johnson in London, come ahead of an election campaign in which immigration is expected to be a decisive issue, with the British National Party seeking to win its first seat in Parliament.
Labour argues that its Australian-style points system will control immigration by allowing non-EU nationals in only if they are highly skilled or can fill identified gaps in the UK labour market.
Conservatives are promising to slow down the rate of inward migration by imposing an annual cap. But Labour regards the idea of a “pre-determined quota” as misleading, arguing that it will not apply to 80% of migrants, including EU nationals, family members and students.
Source: Press Association