Michael Howard's immigration pitch needs to be twinned with an international development message

Michael Howard's chief campaign strategist - Lynton Crosby - used the issue of immigration to rescue John Howard's last but one Australian campaign. Opinion polls show that immigration and the distinct issue of asylum are the most potent of election issues for the Tories. It is no surprise, therefore, that Michael Howard used his first major speech* of the campaign to focus on Tony Blair's failure to deliver "firm but fair immigration control". The Tory leader told a gathering of Tory activists in Telford:

"It's not racist to talk about immigration.

It's not racist to criticise the system.

It's not racist to want to limit the numbers.

It's just plain commonsense."

With the possible exception of the cap on asylum numbers (which could be too restrictive in a time of desperate international emergency) there is nothing wrong with Tory asylum and immigration policy. Welcoming only genuine refugees (asylum) and people likely to benefit Britain's economy or public services (immigration) is a perfectly reasonable aim. The current crisis in border control offends the British people and this is why most Britons support the Tory approach.

There are many voters, however, who agree with Tory policy but want to be reassured that the Conservative agenda as a whole is fundamentally decent. It is disappointing that Michael Howard has not done more to reassure such voters. Today's speech, for example, and previous newspaper ads have showcased immigration policy but neglected the Conservative Party's excellent policies* on international development. This is a shame as linking development and immigration policies makes strategic and political sense.

A pre-emptive development policy in some of the poorest nations of the world will reduce the likelihood of people fleeing their home circumstances. The cost of helping a needy person in their home country is much, much smaller than waiting for them to arrive at Britain's borders.

This Deeper and Broader* entry from the main conservativehome.com website captures one way of explaining the kind of policy that Conservatives already have:

"Rapid deportation of false asylum seekers would free up more resources to provide safe haven for refugees in genuine fear for their lives. In addition, adoption of Australia’s system of work permits would ensure that wider immigration serves Britain’s real economic and social needs. But at the same time that Britain closes its borders to large-scale immigration it should fully open its hearts and minds to the poorest people of the world. Open hearts will mean year-on-year increases in development expenditure to feed hungry children and treat people dying from treatable diseases. Open minds will mean that spending is channeled through development charities with proven records of getting assistance to needy people. Corrupt, authoritarian governments shouldn’t receive a penny from the British taxpayer. Aid should reward developing nations that are aspiring to stand on their own feet by investing in the education and welfare of their people.

Without this kind of balance the Conservative Party risks their poll rating staying stuck in the mid to high 30s. A danger discussed in the last post.

Comments

[Adrian Owens]

There is a need to link the party’s narrative on immigration to global economic issues, but I would suggest that the emphasis needs to be linked more strongly to global free trade as the vehicle to reduce the pressures for people movement across international borders.

It is our continuing failure to fully liberalise world trade in goods and services that leads to the economic distortions which cause people to risk life and limb to cross continents and work illegally in the developed world. It is ironic that our system is more successful at identifying illegally imported cotton textiles than illegal immigrants.

Pledging to increase our development budget may give us Britons a warm glow, but it merely underlines the vast income disparities involved in the transfer of aid and can undermine the human dignity of the recipient.

In contrast, a courageous scrapping of our trade barriers to the products of the developing world provides producers of goods in fledgling economies with real opportunities to work their way out of poverty.

Moreover, such a move will be mutually beneficial. Professor Patrick Minford of Cardiff Business School has recently calculated that the scrapping of EU trade tariffs would add 3% to Britain’s GDP – around half the cost of our health services.

In addition, a man working in a developing country for a company able to sell goods into the western economies is unlikely to see illegal emigration to Britain as such an attractive option.

So, the emphasis needs to be on controlled immigration and global free trade. Such a twin approach will preserve the dignity of people in developing countries; maintain family links among families in these countries; reduce income disparities between countries; relieve the pressure for people movement across continents; and also increase our own GDP.

What are the obstacles to the realisation of this policy idea? Answer, the European Union. Nothing new there then!

[Edward]

Also we have a ridiculous situation where we get qualified engineers coming over from Afganistan to work in a fish farm in Scotland.

In the third world education is increasingly being seen as the way out of poverty. we need to support this by using the diplomatic and military pressures the EU has to strengthen the cause of democratic governance in Africa.

[Henry]

All this stuff about gypsies, asylum seekers etc is typically nasty Tory stuff. They hassled Jews 100 years ago, appeased Hitler in the 30s, were nasty about black people in the 60s & 70s. It's especially disgraceful coming from the son of illegal immigrants.

How could anyone support such evil people?

[EU Serf]

One big question that I have never seen raised concerning asylum is "Does it need to be permanent?"

When innocent people are at risk from war, most of us would like to help them. My feeling is that temporary asylum would be much more popular and allow us to help many more people.

The key problem is our ability to get rid of people who over stay their welcome, or who come on false pretences. Solve that problem and the numbers coming in no longer matter.

[bbn]

MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE MEGSPASE

idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG idisk.VIDEOSBLOG

$uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies $uperEVAvideos-movies