A selection of recent media reports
Immigration hot topic for voters in Bolton West Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
The issue of immigration was a topic covered by candidates in Bolton West as they took part in the first of the BBC's Town Hall debates. Labour's Julie Hilling, Jackie Pearcey from the Liberal Democrats and Conservative candidate Susan Williams all gave their views on the issue in response to a...
BBC News (13-Apr-2010)
Brown: voters too sensible for BNP
Gordon Brown said he believed voters were too "sensible" to fall for the...
Evening Standard (13-Apr-2010)
Immigration changes will not cause UK skills exodus, global firms insist
Multinational firms have rushed to the defence of immigration changes introduced last week, claiming the new rules will "make no difference" to UK employers' ability to attract overseas...
Personneltoday.com (13-Apr-2010)
Agency officers remove 900 illegal immigrants in a year
BORDER Agency officers have removed more than 900 illegal immigrants from Wales in the past 12 months, according to new figures. Many were found working in restaurants and takeaways resulting in big fines for...
South Wales Evening Post (13-Apr-2010)
Tory manifesto: The blue book that speaks volumes
At 28,045 words, today's Conservative manifesto is wilfully dull looking. The plain blue hardback cover feels like a Fifties school Latin primer, while the title, Invitation To Join The Government Of Britain, is a calculated...
Evening Standard (13-Apr-2010)
Immigration tops the agenda for Barking constituency
The controversial issue of immigration may help to decide who wins the seat of Barking in east...
BBC News London (13-Apr-2010)
Prime Minister talks to BBC Asian Network
Gordon Brown has given an interview to the BBC Asian Network today, in which he discussed various topics including his views on the future of the BBC Asian...
Bizasia.co.uk (13-Apr-2010)
On the knocker in West London: The Conservatives say no
By Kaye...
Politics.co.uk (13-Apr-2010)
CAMERON PROMISES SOMETHING "VERY DIFFERENT"
DAVID Cameron issued a rallying call to voters today, asking them to join him in creating a new form of government as he set out his Conservative...
Daily Express (13-Apr-2010)
Ukip urges voters to 'sod the lot'
Ukip said "Sod the lot" as they launched their manifesto, telling voters it was time to ditch the three main parties. The party's new poster features the faces of Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg alongside the slogan "Sod The Lot".
Mirror.co.uk (13-Apr-2010)
Cuts and immigration spark fierce Carlisle election debate
The Parliamentary candidates for Carlisle clashed over spending cuts and immigration at the first hustings of the campaign...
The Cumberland News (13-Apr-2010)
Conservative election manifesto: key points
Following the publication of the Conservative Party manifesto this morning we have picked out some of the key pledges. Parliament and constitution Cut ministers' pay by 5 per cent, followed by a five-year...
ePolitix.com (13-Apr-2010)
UKIP Pledges EU Exit Vote 'To Save £120bn'
The UK Independence party has launched its election manifesto demanding a referendum on leaving the European Union. The party is fielding more than 500 candidates, but claims it has identified seven constituencies not to contest because the favourites - six Tories and one Labour - are sufficiently euro...
LBC (13-Apr-2010)
Labour is to blame for the rise of the far-Right BNP
The rise of the racist BNP in Barking and Dagenham is Labour's fault for ignoring people's real concerns, the shadow London minister claimed...
Evening Standard (13-Apr-2010)
Cuts and immigration spark a fierce debate
THE Parliamentary candidates for Carlisle clashed over spending cuts and immigration at the first hustings of the campaign yesterday. Seven of the citys eight would-be MPs attended the question-and-answer session, organised by Cumbria Council for Voluntary Service, at the Hallmark Hotel in Court...
News & Star (13-Apr-2010)
GENERAL ELECTION 2010: GORDON BROWN IS BLASTED OVER IMMIGRATION PLANS
CRITICS have branded Gordon Brown s immigration promises too little, much too late . The PM was yesterday blasted for jumping on the border control bandwagon to try to win...
Daily Star (13-Apr-2010)
LABOUR FAIL TO IMPRESS
FOR a man fighting to save his neck, Gordon Brown would have been forgiven for ramming his election manifesto with voter-friendly gold. The PM yesterday set out the vision which he hopes will save Labour from defeat on May...
Daily Star (13-Apr-2010)
SCHOOL THAT'S A SCANDAL
FOR many years Left-wingers have attempted to stifle debate on immigration. in particular they have objected to terms such as swamped and flooded being used to describe the impact of new arrivals upon...
Daily Express (13-Apr-2010)
A Labour manifesto mired in the past
'This is a manifesto about the future. We are looking forward.' So declared the Prime Minister yesterday as he laid out his party's blueprint for a fourth term in...
Mail Online (13-Apr-2010)
PUPILS WITH 39 LANGUAGES PUT SCHOOL IN CRISIS
A FAILING secondary school is being forced to beg for multi-lingual volunteers to help teachers cope with the 39 different languages spoken by its...
Daily Express (13-Apr-2010)
Press Releases
Comment on Conservative Manifesto
Commenting on the proposals on immigration in the Conservative manifesto, Migrationwatch chairman, Sir Andrew Green said today:
‘This is a very significant turning point in the crucial debate on immigration, which is of huge concern to the public. At last we have a manifesto that sets out, for the first time, an overall objective for net immigration. This is a reversal of the policies of the last decade - but of course there will be plenty of devils in the detail. Unless we can get net immigration down to about 40,000, a UK population of 70 million will be inevitable’
Migrationwatch response to the Labour Manifesto
Commenting on the section on immigration in the Labour Party Manifesto, Migrationwatch chairman Sir Andrew Green said today:
'On immigration, Labour's manifesto shows some glimpses of light. Breaking the link between economic migration and permanent settlement is a valuable step forward. Mention of limits on high skilled workers and university students would be more significant if any such limits were specified. But on the central issue of an overall limit to immigration, the manifesto is deeply unconvincing. The authors were clearly ducking and weaving to avoid the commitment that really matters to the public, namely a broad policy objective to achieve a sharp reduction in immigration.'
Immigration: Now it's the Foreign Secretary Who Get's His Facts Seriously Wrong
No sooner has the PM had his knuckles wrapped by the Statistics Authority for using misleading statistics on immigration, than his Foreign Secretary does the same on Radio 5 Live.
In an interview at 8.40 a.m. this morning on the Five Live Breakfast Show, David Miliband said:
"One point that is very often not understood is that half the people who came into the country last year, of 160,000, were British people returning to Britain ……..".
In fact he was referring to net immigration for 2008 which was 163,000 but none of them were British people returning home. In fact, twice as many Brits left as arrived that year so they made no contribution to net immigration. Of the total of 590,000 who arrived in 2008 only about 1 in 7 was British.
Commenting, Sir Andrew Green Chairman of Migrationwatch said, 'Yet again a very senior member of the Government has got his facts on immigration completely wrong. If Cabinet Ministers cannot get the basic facts right, how can they possibly have an effective immigration policy.’
Prime Minister gets it wrong on immigration – again
In his speech on immigration on 31 March, the Prime Minister attacked “those who propose a quota” on immigration. He claimed that it was unworkable and quoted from an IPPR paper to support his case.
In fact nobody is calling for a quota on immigration. He was, presumably, confusing an overall policy objective for net immigration which the Cross Party Group on Balanced Migration wish to see with a Conservative proposal for a cap on work permits which are only a small part of the picture.
A report out today from Migrationwatch examines the IPPR claims quoted by the Prime Minister and finds them to be unfounded. They are based on an overestimate of net immigration from the EU and they fail to take account of the plans by both major parties for a second Points Based test before economic migrants are granted settlement. The Migrationwatch paper demonstrates that a broad strategic aim of 40,000 a year is entirely feasible over a period of years.
Said Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch: 'The Prime Minister is again getting into a muddle over immigration. It is hard to know whether he is trying to distract attention from the inexcusable government record of admitting three million immigrants since 1997 or whether he is seeking to avoid any firm commitment to limiting immigrant numbers in future.'
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