John Reid signals an end to immigration free-for-all

13 April 2012

Migrants should only be allowed into Britain if schools and hospitals can cope, John Reid has finally admitted.

The Home Secretary's remarks indicate that - after a nine-year free-for-all - Labour is to end its open door immigration policy.

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Until now, the Government has based immigration policy on nothing more than whether the economy needs workers to fill skills shortages and provide cheap labour.

But now the Government has abandoned its purely economic argument for immigration - and acknowledged its social costs.

In a clear break with the old controversial stance, Mr Reid said it "isn't fair or sensible" not to consider the impact on public services.

He is to tell a new panel assessing how many migrants to allow into Britain to consider if the country's already-stretched infrastructure can cope, and not just the wishes of the Treasury and employers.

Mr Reid said: "It isn't fair, or sensible, if in assessing immigration levels we don't take into account the effects of immigration on the schools, and hospitals and housing."

It is in stark contrast to the 2005 Labour Party general election manifesto. This merely said: "Our philosophy is simple. If you are ready to work hard and there is work for you to do, then you are welcome here."

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "At long last the Home Secretary looks like he is coming round to our way of thinking. We have consistently been saying that immigration can be of benefit to the country but only if it is properly controlled.

"This means taking into account its impact on housing, public service and community cohesion. Now he must back up his words with action. Sadly Government lack of control has already seen massive strain put on housing and public services and led to many isolated and separated communities being formed."

For years, the Government has stubbornly refused to set any upper limit on new arrivals - swelling the population by around 1.5m since 1997.

But, in a huge U-turn earlier this year, Mr Reid appointed a panel of experts, headed by business leaders, to assess the skills shortages in the UK to work out how many migrant workers are needed.

It would then set an "optimum" level of migration which is "beneficial in terms of enhancing the economy of this country".

But it has only now emerged it will be ordered to take into account social factors as well. It means the needs of the economy must be balanced against whether schools will be able to teach the children of migrants, or if the health service can cope.

The advisory panel's findings will be translated into a number of work permits, to be handed out by the Government.

Mr Reid's policy shift, made in unnoticed remarks to Labour colleagues at his party's annual conference, was welcomed by campaign groups.

It is also likely to be popular with voters, who have repeatedly placed immigration at the top of their list of concerns.

A positive response to the idea can only help his hopes of challenging Gordon Brown for the Labour leadership next year.

In his remarks, Mr Reid even used the phrase "mass migration" - normally avoided by Labour politicians.

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch UK, said: "At last the Home Secretary has woken up to the social impact of what he recognises is mass migration. Not before time.

"We now face the largest wave of immigration in our history. The two opposition parties seem to have nothing useful to say about it, so we can only hope that Dr Reid will match his words with action to impose a firm limit on the unprecedented numbers coming to Britain."

Despite the radical change of position, there remain huge question marks over whether it will achieve sufficient reductions in migration.

All EU citizens have free movement, and do not need permission to live or work here. These include the 600,000 Eastern Europeans who have arrived in the two years since joining on May 1, 2004.

Romania and Bulgaria will them join them on January 1 next year, with up to 600,000 of their citizens expected to join the influx. They may have to secure work permits to get jobs, but are free to set up as self-employed workers or visit.

The Government could attempt to work out how many migrants from within the EU will come here, and reduce the number of visas given to people from the rest of the world accordingly - in 2004 alone, there were 268,000 non-EU arrivals.

But the Home Office has a diabolical record for predictions, saying there would only be 13,000 Eastern European arrivals each year. This could dramatically reduce its effectiveness.

Mr Reid's shift of position follows his admission earlier this year that it is not 'racist' to talk about immigration. When the Conservatives made it a major general election issue last year, they were accused by then Home Secretary Charles Clarke of trying to "mobilise prejudice and bigotry".

But Mr Reid said: "We have to get away from this daft so-called politically correct notion that anybody who wants to talk about immigration is somehow a racist. That isn't the case."

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