February 6, 2005
NO RIGHT TO GET TO:
Labour fuels war on asylum (Gaby Hinsliff and Martin Bright, February 6, 2005, The Observer)
Immigrants' rights to settle permanently in Britain will be drastically curbed as the government admits for the first time that the nation's 'hospitality' has been tested by abuses of the immigration and asylum system.In a move that will reignite the controversy over whether Labour and the Conservatives are both 'playing the race card' over immigration and asylum, the government will announce that permanent entry for immigrants will be blocked for all but skilled professionals.
The crackdown - which would even have excluded the nanny whose case led to the downfall of David Blunkett - came as a senior cabinet minister insisted that fears of refugees and migrants overstretching public services were 'legitimate'. Patricia Hewitt, the Trade and Industry Secretary, said it was 'unfair' if people were 'flouting the rules'.
Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, will announce tomorrow that in future only 'desirable' employees, such as doctors and teachers, would be granted the right to settle permanently - and even then only if they passed English tests - while others would be forced to leave when their work permits expired.
Home Office sources said abuses of the system had led to a feeling that 'the fairness and hospitality of the British people has been tested', adding: 'There is a recognition that there is some kind of breakdown of confidence among the public.' Hewitt said there were 'real concerns' about abuses of the asylum and immigration system.
'The idea that we are not willing to talk about this issue is nonsense,' she told The Observer.
The Tories can't get to the Right of Tony Blair because he leaves them so little room there. Within the next few months he will almost certainly ditch the EU, thereby leaving them nothing. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 6, 2005 8:56 AM
Blair is too smart to visibly ditch the EU. He will simply do as follows: Announce a referendum on a date certain about British adoption of the Euro. Campaign like hell to get it passed, making all the arguments that the financial elites find so compelling but for the rest of us are little more than a snoozefest. Watch the Tories split into pieces over it. Then, since the result of the referendum is a foregone conclusion as Brits from all across the political spectrum will unite to reject the Euro by a staggering margin, Blair will get up at a Labour rally and announce that 'the people have spoken and their will must be obeyed.' Calmly with some but not too much apology for his erroneous view on the Euro, he will switch his public stance completely, as he is 'after all' merely a servant of the people.
Posted by: Bart at February 6, 2005 12:19 PMHmm.
It is true that Blair's actions are often those of a third-way realist, which helps explain why the Tories seem unable to outflank him on the right. But both Bart and OJ seem to be ignoring his decidedly transnationalist and utopian ideals.
The fact that British sovereignty continues to erode under Blair's watch doesn't bode well for your optimism.
Posted by: Anthony Perez-Miller at February 6, 2005 1:52 PMAnthony, the salient point is not Blair's positions but that Blair really likes being PM. Third Way is a sham, little more than a shell game. However, it enables skilled left-of-center politicos to outflank their less skilled(and, in the case of the Tories, utterly unskilled) conservative opposition at least in terms of posturing.
Posted by: Bart at February 6, 2005 4:23 PMMr. Perez-Miller:
Folks talk about those ideals but he trampled them in Bosnia and Iraq, among other places. No one has done more damage to transnational institutions than Tony Blair. Judge him by his deeds.
Posted by: oj at February 6, 2005 10:21 PM