Tory candidate in immigration row resigns
James Forsyth 5:48pm
Nigel Hastilow, the Tory candidate who said Enoch was right, has resigned rather than an issue an apology for his remarks. The speed with which he has gone has minimised the damage that has been done but Hastilow’s comments illustrate just how dangerous the immigration issue can be for the Conservatives; Peter Hain got in a shot at the ‘racist underbelly of the Tory party’ on Sunday AM this morning. The real problem for David Cameron will come if someone who is an MP, and therefore can’t be got rid of quickly, expresses similar sentiments.
The leadership’s irritation with Hastilow can only have been increased by the fact that the controversy over his remarks have obscured the story about how Ruth Kelly has been caught using her parliamentary communications allowance to promote the Labour party in breach of the rules. The issue of the parliamentary communications allowance is one that the Tories are particularly keen to see gain traction as they think it justifies the money that Michael Ashcroft is spending in the marginals. It will be hard for Gordon Brown to propose a legislative curb on Aschroft’s spending if it is seen as an attempt to level the playing field rather than gain an advantage.
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Jack R
November 11th, 2007 5:49pmThis Labour government is still enthusiastically campaigning for the further enlargement of the European Union, (particularly that of 80 million Turks) which will increase immigration into the UK even more substantially. Although it is rarely discussed outside the EU bureaucracy and its supporters, such as Miliband and Vaz, the following countries are candidates, and potential candidates for EU membership: -Croatia, -The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, -Albania, -Bosnia and Herzegovinia, -Montenegro, -Serbia, -Kosovo, and not last, and not least, -Turkey. The Labour government is enthusiastically campaigning for enlargement, and for the concomitant further large increase of immigrants from these new member countries into Britain. No member state can impose more than short, temporary restriction to such EU immmigrants of the future. Is the Conservative Party prepared to criticise such enlargement in principle? Is it prepared to say publicly, for example, that it opposes Turkey's application to join?
Hilary
March 3rd, 2008 11:31amIs the Tory party prepared to start, at last, considering removing Britain from the EU? Or at least re-examining the extent of its domination of British law? Is a country that is "not allowed" to police its own borders for the safety and wellbeing of its citizens, still an independent state? The EU has proved itself a menace to freedom and to democracy. And an extremely expensive menace at that. If the Tories want to put all to right in Britain that has been set wrong by New Labour, there is one giant elephant rampaging around the living room that will have to be dealt with.