Johnson: the Tories aren't the "nasty party" when it comes to immigration

Dorothy Wilson

If - by any remote chance - Johnson became PM the credit rating agencies would panic. Out status would go into a nose-dive with all the consequences for our credibility as borrowers, interest rates and the economy in general. It would be an absolute and utter disaster.

Anyone with a Conservative inclination, and indeed anyone who has the interests of our country at heart, should be very, very wary of him.

He may not think the Conservatives are the "nasty" party but my feeling is that under all that benign facade he is a nasty little man.

Anne Wotana Kaye

Is it possible that the Nu Labour Oiks have employed a certain measure of Machevialian cunning by praising an aspect of their electorial rivals?

John Moss

with the exception of the "cap" Labour lifted the Conservative immigration policy pretty much intact from our 2005 manifesto and implimented it when they brought in the points based system we advocated alongside the cap.

Sadly, they did this so ineptly that student visa numbers have shot up and the number of work permits issued have also stayed steady despite recession.

Until they address welfare entitlement, this will not be fixed. I believe Austria requires a 2,000 deposit from all migrants, EU or not? Perhaps we should do the same?

Keith D

How sad that this man insults our intelligence by attempting to dissolve 12 years of treachery on this issue with a few weasel words. The same man who would "not lose sleep at night if the population reaches 70 million"

TomTom

What a polity !! The peasants get a nod from The Seigneur to be permitted to converse on his terms. The British are a real lickspittle race of nonentities.

They need permission to debate where their country is headed and how many foreigners should take up residence. It is a real pity they wasted their time dying in 1939-47 leaving behind weak and supine creatures incapable of defending their own towns and civic institutions from alien dogma and Marxist claptrap.

Each time I rad articles on the lines of the secular messiah is here to free us from our inhibited state of compliance I reflect on just what a joke British society and media really is. Weak and timid unless given permission to put up their hands by teacher

2trueblue

Very dangerous to give any credence to remarks the man makes at this time. Labour know that they have made a total mess of everyting, but that the immigration issue has now become 'respectable' so they want to claim some ground there.

When the Tories went on immigration in the last election Labour used some very nasty tactics against them.

The postman in this instance is trying to steal ground, not deliver anything.

Snowman

Johnson's right, what's the point of switching to the Tories, the issue has been debated and we all agree, let's just keep those who are governing us for another five years at least, shall we.

Bickers

Snowman, you're having a laugh aren't you?

Any indication that the voters will be stupid enough to vote back in this failed experiment called NuLabour or have a hung parliament will send the money markets into a nosedive. Nu Labour have created a million+ strong non productive/necessary client State, borrowed and spent 100's of billions to fund useless projects (e.g. wind farms, NHS computer, ID cards etc), allowed the cultural structure of our society to be altered through unfettered immigration ( without the consent of the electorate) and ceded yet more powers to the unelected EU superstate (reneging on a manifesto pledge to let voters have their say in the process)

We need to vote in a Government with the bravery of the early Thatcher Government which will do the following:
1. get Government out of large parts of our lives
2. have an immigration policy that's in the interests of the majority of UK citizens
3. within 5 years have the Government's take of GDP reduded to lowest in EU
4. Reduce no of MP's by 30-40% (they given over control of most policy areas to EU) or take back significant powers from EU
5. Reduce Quangos (no's & budget) by at least 50% - we employ civil servants to do what most quangos do

Hawkeye

This is about protecting the Labour core vote.

Quite simply, Johnson is moving the immigration debate to a "main parties" arena to shut out the BNP. Most of the BNP defectors come from Labour's core vote - the white working class. Immigration is an effective "recruiting issue" for the BNP.

By doing it this way, Johnson can talk about immigration and shut out the BNP and hopefully remove the reason for Labour voters to defect.

Of course, talking is fine - whether anything gets done about it is a different matter.

JohnW

This is a man who 2 years ago said, of one of the asylum seekers in his constituency,
"...would be devastating for him, his family, indeed it could prove fatal... There are few cases where we need our system to work more than this one."

And in October 2009, as Home Secretary, sent the asylum seeker back to that country.

He's a hypocrite, like all politicians.

Snowman

Bickers @ 12.44:

My friend, if you truly believe that our Dave and his crew will do what you want the next Government to do, you must also believe that the earth’s flat.

The country needs a Government of any colour elected on a pitiful share of the popular vote as much as it needs a pandemic of the swine flue.

Also, where does the idea that a hung Parliament will send the money (bond, stock) markets into a nosedive come from? Have you heard any of the parties in the rink suggesting that fiscal policy won’t have to be tightened and the debt burden cut?

Edward Sutherland

Johnson knows that Labour's reputation on immigration control lies in tatters as far as the great majority of British people are concerned. He's just trying to neutralise the Conservative advantage. No doubt he thanks his lucky stars that the press, with some honourable exceptions (the Spectator not being one) didn't follow up on the Neather revelations.

Dorothy Wilson

"Also, where does the idea that a hung Parliament will send the money (bond, stock) markets into a nosedive come from?"

It comes from the hints given by the international credit rating agencies that the only reason the UK is keeping its Triple A rating is because those agencies expect a Conservative Government next year.

If we are downgraded from the top rating, all those people who have been lending us money to finance our deficit and debt will see us as a higher risk and will demand more interest to compensate. Otherwise, they will withdraw their loans.

If we then have to increase interest rates to keep them on board, the economy will be hit just when we should be pulling out the recession.

You may not like this but it is reality.

David Lindsay

Some of us would wish to vote for candidates in the tradition of the action taken by past Labour Governments to arrest the importation of a new working class whose members understood no English except commands, knew nothing about workers’ rights in this country, could be deported if they stepped out of line, and (since they had no affinity with any particular locality here) could be moved around at will.

In the tradition of such action against the enforced bilingualism or multilingualism that transfers economic, social, cultural and political power to a bilingual or multilingual élite, to the exclusion of the English-speaking working class, black and white.

And in the tradition of of the No2EU – Yes To Democracy list at the 2009 European Parliamentary Elections, headed both in the East Midlands and in Yorkshire and the Humber by leaders of the Lindsey oil refinery workers.

But we can’t. Unless we ourselves are those candidates. So that is what we are going to have to be.

The Puppet Master

Immigration is mainly an issue where large numbers of muslim immigrants live, Johnson's words are unlikely to have much effect on those who experience Islamic supremacism on a daily basis. So it looks like a failed attempt to shut out the BNP. The BNP is here to stay, the question is whether the financial crisis will enable them to expand outside of current areas.
I still think it is possible, but it would depend on when the state is forced to slash its spending. Both Ireland and Denmark have now introduced voluntary repatriation programmes for immigrants, in Ireland's case because they can't afford welfare payments for immigrants. The BNP may force the British government to do the same thing.

Beer Moth

The debate?

Between two groups who are both determined to continue flooding the country with foreigners?

Not interested.

Snowman

Dorothy Wilson @ 5.15: what hints if I may ask.