Conservatives seek to keep non-European migrants out of the UK
-10/11/06
The British C
Conservatives seek to keep non-European migrants out of the UK
-10/11/06
The British Conservative Party believes that it is a departure from the strident anti-immigration rhetoric of the past, but migrantsí rights groups ñ including church-based activists ñ are not so sure about David Cameronís newly announced policy shift on immigration, which proposes quotas to limit non-Europeans coming to Britain, and tough policing to ensure it happens.
One campaigner told Ekklesia: ìThe more you look at what the Tories are proposing, the more it looks like the iron fist in the velvet glove. I donít think it represents a real change of heart, just a masking of deep-seated prejudices with a convenient veneer of compassion and modernisation. Itís basic assumptions are still racist, frankly ñ the people deemed ëunsuitableí will largely be poor and non-white, mark my words.î
Church groups have over the past few years united across the UK to press for fairer migration policies and a more humane stance towards refugees, asylum seekers ñ and those reduced by Britainís privilege in an unequal world economy to the category of ëeconomic migrantsí.
David Cameron launched the Conservativesí ìnew approachî to economic migration, by saying he would like ìsignificantlyî lower numbers of people coming from outside the European Union to work in the UK.
The Tory policy paper, overseen by David Davis, who Cameron defeated for the leadership, proposes an economic test for would-be migrants, giving priority to high-skilled workers and entrepreneurs, coupled with an annual cap on the number of non-EU nationals allowed in to work.
Mr Cameron said that this was a ìthoughtful but toughî policy which would balance the economic benefits of immigration to the UK with the social impact on the country’s public services and infrastructure.
Critics will argue that it merely benefits the rich, and some business groups say that a wide spectrum of people are needed to help the economy, not just an elite.
Mr Cameron would not estimate what level the cap would be set each year, but Tories indicated it could be expected to be significantly lower than the current annual rate of around 200,000 non-EU economic migrants.
Labour Home Secretary John Reid dismissed the Conservative proposals, implying that because the Tories at present reject Identity Cards, they were not tough enough.
Tabloid newspapers in Britain, who run remorseless scare stories about immigration and talk about ìfloodsî of incomers, seem sceptical too.
Meanwhile, the Refugee Council said yesterday that many refugees to the UK fail to receive basic support because of ìinhumaneî government policy, after a new report found that thousands are living in ìabject povertyî.
Acting Council chief executive Anna Reisenberger said: ìThese reports reveal the stark reality of the severe hardship caused by the government’s inhumane policy. Very vulnerable people are living in appalling circumstances, unable to go home but not entitled to work and receiving very basic support or in many cases, no support at all.î
She added that ìWe have been calling for some time for an end to this policy of forcing people into destitution.î
The council’s ëJust.Fairí campaign is attempting to end the destitution of asylum seekers, who receive 30 per cent less than the minimum amount a single person needs to live on. The campaign aims to ensure that ìwhile they are here, everyone who has claimed asylum should be able to live in safety and in decent conditionsî.
Conservatives seek to keep non-European migrants out of the UK
-10/11/06
The British Conservative Party believes that it is a departure from the strident anti-immigration rhetoric of the past, but migrantsí rights groups ñ including church-based activists ñ are not so sure about David Cameronís newly announced policy shift on immigration, which proposes quotas to limit non-Europeans coming to Britain, and tough policing to ensure it happens.
One campaigner told Ekklesia: ìThe more you look at what the Tories are proposing, the more it looks like the iron fist in the velvet glove. I donít think it represents a real change of heart, just a masking of deep-seated prejudices with a convenient veneer of compassion and modernisation. Itís basic assumptions are still racist, frankly ñ the people deemed ëunsuitableí will largely be poor and non-white, mark my words.î
Church groups have over the past few years united across the UK to press for fairer migration policies and a more humane stance towards refugees, asylum seekers ñ and those reduced by Britainís privilege in an unequal world economy to the category of ëeconomic migrantsí.
David Cameron launched the Conservativesí ìnew approachî to economic migration, by saying he would like ìsignificantlyî lower numbers of people coming from outside the European Union to work in the UK.
The Tory policy paper, overseen by David Davis, who Cameron defeated for the leadership, proposes an economic test for would-be migrants, giving priority to high-skilled workers and entrepreneurs, coupled with an annual cap on the number of non-EU nationals allowed in to work.
Mr Cameron said that this was a ìthoughtful but toughî policy which would balance the economic benefits of immigration to the UK with the social impact on the country’s public services and infrastructure.
Critics will argue that it merely benefits the rich, and some business groups say that a wide spectrum of people are needed to help the economy, not just an elite.
Mr Cameron would not estimate what level the cap would be set each year, but Tories indicated it could be expected to be significantly lower than the current annual rate of around 200,000 non-EU economic migrants.
Labour Home Secretary John Reid dismissed the Conservative proposals, implying that because the Tories at present reject Identity Cards, they were not tough enough.
Tabloid newspapers in Britain, who run remorseless scare stories about immigration and talk about ìfloodsî of incomers, seem sceptical too.
Meanwhile, the Refugee Council said yesterday that many refugees to the UK fail to receive basic support because of ìinhumaneî government policy, after a new report found that thousands are living in ìabject povertyî.
Acting Council chief executive Anna Reisenberger said: ìThese reports reveal the stark reality of the severe hardship caused by the government’s inhumane policy. Very vulnerable people are living in appalling circumstances, unable to go home but not entitled to work and receiving very basic support or in many cases, no support at all.î
She added that ìWe have been calling for some time for an end to this policy of forcing people into destitution.î
The council’s ëJust.Fairí campaign is attempting to end the destitution of asylum seekers, who receive 30 per cent less than the minimum amount a single person needs to live on. The campaign aims to ensure that ìwhile they are here, everyone who has claimed asylum should be able to live in safety and in decent conditionsî.