Policy Comparison 8 - Immigration/Asylum

Ok, onto the penultimate area now. At the risk of being out of step with the majority of the public, the things that has dismayed me most about the immigration debate so far is how much the main parties are letting the likes of the BNP force the issue. Labour and the Lib-Dems seemed to have lurched towards the right on this issue since the last election.

My own views on the issue - yes, the system does seem a bit of a mess and we probably need to do something to keep better track of who is coming. At the same time, we need to recognise that immigrants often bring economic and cultural advantages to the country. There is possibly also a case to argue that with an ageing population we are going to need more people to come and pay taxes in order to be able to balance the books. Of course, this needs to be balanced with concerns about over-crowding. Something also needs to be done about people-trafficking which nobody wants to admit is happening.

As far as asylum goes, which has been under-mentioned in the election so far, there should be no limits, we need to stop the disgrace of locking up children and we need to provide asylum seekers with an amount they can live off and the opportunity to work whilst their applications are being processed. No questions about that, in my book, its what is morally and socially right.

Again, in no particular order:

BNP

• Deport all the two million plus who are here illegally.
• Deport all those who commit crimes and whose original nationality was not British.
• Review all recent grants of residence or citizenship to ensure they are still appropriate.
• Offer generous grants to those of foreign descent resident here who wish to leave permanently.
• Stop all new immigration except for exceptional cases.
• Reject all asylum seekers who passed safe countries on their way to Britain.

Or, in other words, get rid of as many as possible of different race and culture. I'm tempted to leave it there and let such a self-evidently abhorrent policy condemn itself, but practically how would you deport so many illegals if you didn't know where they were, except if the BNP had their way they would be easy to spot as they'd be the only ones here with a different skin colour.


Lib - Dems

• Improve border controls with the introduction of a National Border Force and reintroduce exit checks at all ports.
• Introduce a regional strand to the points-based immigration system, awarding more points for possessing the skills the UK economy needs and for moving to areas that have the will and resources to receive more migrants.
• Work closely with the European Union on immigration, especially in tackling people-trafficking and immigration crime, and a shared asylum policy.
• Prioritise the improvement of visa services at UK consulates, introduce a full complaints procedure and review the restrictions on rights of appeal.
• Transfer responsibility for producing migration statistics to the Office of National Statistics to restore public confidence.
• Increase the price of work permits paid by businesses to employ immigrant workers and use the money to re-train British workers in sectors affected by immigration.
• Develop an earned route to citizenship, beginning with a two-year work permit, for irregular migrants who have been in the UK for 10 years, subject to English language and civics tests or proof of participation in suitable courses in these subjects.
• Promote Integration as well as Immigration by tackling housing shortages, extending language lessons, reforming the Life In The UK test to empower new arrivals to engage fully in society, and encourage twinning arrangements between schools with different ethnic or social mixes of pupils.

There's a mixture here, and some ideas which have become controversial. Overall I still find the tone a bit too anti-immigrant for me (especially increasing the price of work permits), but there are other things to recommend it. The amnesty issue is a tricky one, but it is at least an attempt to do something about a hidden problem and they have a willingness to tackle people-trafficking that I applaud. It might encurage more people to try and come, but something needs to be done. Similarly I'm quite attracted to the regional variation idea and think it could work if you get the first bits right of having a better idea of who's here in the first place. People who come legally are maybe easier to track and less likely to disappear into the hidden economy.


Greens

• We will replace existing British Immigration law with an Immigration law based on the principle of fair and prompt treatment of applicants rather than on excluding dishonest applicants whatever the cost to the honest ones. It will not aim to allow increased net migration to Britain other than for humanitarian reasons or as a result of other party policies. We will consult widely with affected groups to ensure that features of the current law which are of concern to them are addressed.
• We will allow the partners, prospective partners, immediate families and prospective families of British residents to join them without excessive delays or unreasonable requirements for proof of relationship. This will be independent of the financial status of the resident and will not be dependent on her/him providing accommodation (We recognise that this must be implemented in association with a housing policy).
• A person's right to stay will not be linked to that of partners or families but will be independent. Families will not be divided by deportation unless the deportee poses a serious danger to public safety.
• We will abolish the 'primary purpose' rule under which partners are refused entry if it is thought that the primary purpose of relationship is for them to gain entry to the UK.
• We will allow the victims of past errors in immigration decisions to come to the UK where these decisions have resulted in continuing serious deprivation.
• Migrants illegally in the UK for over five years will be allowed to remain unless they pose a serious danger to public safety.
• We will aim to ensure that UK immigration control takes place primarily at ports of entry so that no resident is required to carry proof of residence.
• We will implement a visibly independent appeal process for Immigration decisions.

I like the tone of this a lot better. There's much more of recognition of the rights and dignity of immigrants and treating them as human beings rather than as a problem to be dealt with. I like the principles of not splitting families up, of trying to rectify past mistakes, etc... This would get my vote. I also really like the idea of removing the ultimate decision from politicians to an independent decision.

Labour

• Introduce a points-based system for permanent residence and citizenship clearly spelling out the rights and obligations of legal migrants to Britain, as well as the requirements for earning British citizenship. These requirements will include learning English, paying tax and obeying the law "because we believe its fair that those who look to build a new life here should earn the right to do so".
• Enforcing strict penalties against immigrants or their employers if they break the rules, including the establishment of new partnerships between local authorities and enforcement agencies to gather intelligence, disrupt illegal activity and track down illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers.
• Increase the rate of removal of illegal migrants and failed asylum seekers and further expand our detention estate.
• Help communities manage migration at a local level including the Migration Impacts Fund, paid for by an extra levy on new migrants as they enter our country, which will help lessen the short-term impacts on local communities new migration can have.
• Changes to how housing is allocated so that councils can choose to give greater priority to those who have been on the waiting lists the longest, those with local of family connections, or those needing support to take up or remain in low paid employment among other things.
• To ensure fairness we will insist that employers must advertise skilled jobs to resident workers through JobCentre Plus for four weeks before they can bring in a worker from outside Europe.

This makes me feel deeply uncomfortable. There seems to be a clear attempt to ward off the BNP. Nowhere are immigrants seen as anything but a problem, there seems a questionable link with crime, the increase in detention as a response must be opposed, no recognition of the positives immigration can bring to an area and an attitude towards housing that opens the door for widescale discrimination.

UKIP

• A five-year moratorium on settled immigration (except for people with parents or grandparents born in the UK) until proper immigration controls are put in place, and the situation regarding illegal immigrants has been resolved by means of expulsion.
• The party says work permits should continue to be issued to companies requiring employees to work in the UK throughout this moratorium period.
• After the moratorium, future immigration would then be on a strictly controlled basis using a points system. To ensure the UK population does not reach 70 million we will also implement a cap of 50,000 (gross) immigration.
• No one should be admitted unless they are fluent in English, have the required educational qualifications, demonstrate loyalty to the UK, its laws and values, and can support themselves financially, with no recourse to public funds - and this to apply equally to their dependents.
• Britain can only control immigration by reclaiming control of her borders. This can only be done by leaving the European Union, as the EU now controls asylum seeker policy and requires open borders under its immigration policies.
• UK immigration policy should not discriminate in favour of EU citizens at the expense of Commonwealth citizens. There should be fair and equal treatment for all.
• Citizenship should be granted on a provisional basis for a ten-year probationary period. New citizens should be required to sign a 'Declaration of Citizenship'.
• Applications will only be considered at a British port or airport where the applicant has arrived directly from the country from which asylum is sought; or at the British embassy or consulate in that country.

In its own way, I find this far less offensive than Labour’s policy. It’s pretty much what you would expect from UKIP and whilst I would oppose most of the measures here, they don’t have the racial edge of the BNP or the focus on detention of Labour. Yes, its anti-European, of course, and the last point shows a lack of understanding of the realities of lived experience of asylum seekers.

Conservatives

• Immigration can be of real benefit to the UK, but only if it is properly controlled with its impact on the economy, public services and social cohesion taken into account.
• For economic migrants from outside the EU, we propose a two-stage process: the first stage is making eligible for admission those who will benefit the economy.
• The second stage is an annual limit to control the numbers admitted with regard to the wider effects on society and the provision of public services.
• This party would also apply transitional controls as a matter of course in the future for all new EU entrants.
• This party will introduce a dedicated Border Police Force to protect the UK's borders, with the power to stop, search, detain and prosecute the terrorists, traffickers and illegal immigrants who currently slip through the net.

I like the first point. The rest has its own sense. There’s no mention of asylum and I don’t believe the Border Force is the answer by itself to people-trafficking, just as current customs and police measures haven’t been the answer to drug-trafficking say. The cap is at least an arguable policy, but it does fail to take into account the differences between different areas of the UK. I’m also unsure about how practicable the transitional controls within the EU would be. I think the freedom of travel and labour within the EU has largely been a good thing. What they are proposing seems a half-way house that I’m not sure works – in many respects UKIP’s policy is more internally coherent.

Summary

So the order this time would be

1. Greens – at lot to like in their approach to treating immigrants as humans first.

2. Lib-Dems – some of the ideas are controversial, but I like what they’re trying to address, although not all areas of the policy.

3. Conservatives – the highest I’ve placed them yet, but their approach seems more reasonable than Labour on this issue.

4. UKIP – I disagree with this policy in its entirety, but it doesn’t make me uncomfortable in its tone

5. Labour – we need to be using less detention, not more. I really dislike this policy and from a Labour government it is very disappointing

6. BNP – no more comment needed.