Introduction

The great debate on immigration has begun. After many years during which the subject has been taboo both Alan Johnson and Gordon Brown want to engage the public with this issue. This is welcome, timely and long over due.

Prime Minister and Home Secretary

Immigration has been the talk of the town in workplaces, community centres, hospitals, schools and pubs up and down the country for years. Yet it has remained off the agenda for most mainstream politicians.  It is about time that it is also being debated in the open by the Government and parliamentarians. Until now this vacuum has been filled by the BNP.

Immigration - a taboo

For fear of being labelled racist, against cohesion or anti integration, mainstream political parties have been unwilling to discuss the feelings of many of the public. Only a very few can deny the momentous contribution that migrants have made to the UK over the past 60 years, they have made our country strong, rich, diverse and a symbol to countries all around the world that it can be done – people of different race, colour and religion can live and work together to achieve a greater union. It is this coat of many colours that won us the Olympics.

Impact of Immigration

It is time to give people the correct facts and figures. Asylum applications have dropped from 80,315 in 2000 to 25,930 in 2008, a decrease of 54,385 applications annually, destroying the myth that asylum to the UK is ever increasing. And despite many media reports, the number of Eastern Europeans working in the UK has declined from 217,970 in 2007 to 66, 485 in 2008 – dispelling the myth that there is an influx of Eastern European workers to the UK each year. Both European and non-European, have been affected by firm immigration rules in the past decade and more recently the Prime Minister revealed that more than 250,000 non-EU skilled engineering, care and catering workers will be restricted from working in the UK. This is a tough regime.

It is not just those outside the EU that are affected. The leader of the BNP in his recent speech to his conference held in a fitness centre in Wigan, talked about East European immigration as if there was no entitlement of Eastern Europeans to come and work and pay taxes in this country. EU citizens are residents in this country who deserve to work and contribute to our society – in 2007 spending from EU skilled migrants supported an estimated £8.4billion of the UK’s gross added value. Additionally, between 1 and 1.5 million British people work at least part of the year in other EU countries, thanks to the cooperation, interconnectedness and relationships the UK maintains with EU countries. Are they to be asked to leave the country and come home?

There is a constant tug of war in policy between profiting and suffering from migration. The message that the government will lessen the negative impacts of migration to the public must be clear and so should the benefits which migrants bring to the UK.

UKBA

But how much is the confusion over immigration our fault? The public are bombarded with conflicting statistics, success stories and blunders. The government has reassured us that immigration is under control, that the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) are counting people in and out of the country, yet we find that out of the blue, there are an extra 40,000 cases which have been archived and not resolved. The backlog is immigrations biggest demon; it is a constant cloud overshadowing the entire process. Its not about legislation, it’s about administration.

The backlog must be resolved so that UKBA can get on with the job of securing our borders and managing migration effectively. Administration has never been so important, it is vital that it is put right for it is the taxpayer who suffers most. The average daily cost of detaining a person within the immigration removal centre estate is £130 with many remaining in detaining for weeks on end. The cost adds up. It is therefore beneficial to the taxpayer and the government to clean up the system so that those who have been refused settlement in this country are deported as soon as possible.

El Dorado

We must address why so many migrants wish to settle in the UK. On a recent visit to the now demolished Jungle camp in Calais, it was clear that the inhabitants all had one dream in common – to reach el dorado. Migrants are desperate in their attempts to arrive at their dream destination, most paying around 10,000euros to reach UK shores. The ‘El Dorado’ ideal is what motivates these individuals to travel thousands of miles, pay huge sums of money and risk their lives, hoping one day to reach the shores of the United Kingdom. What is ingrained in their mindset is the hope of settling in the promised land, stories from family and friends already in the UK give them hope of a better life, and a reason to risk their lives to achieve it. However, the road to El Dorado is lined with danger and they are risking their lives on this journey.

Foreign Policy

The majority from the Jungle were of Iraqi or Afghani origin. This shows the interface between the UK’s Foreign Domestic policies. One of the ‘jungle’ inhabitants was asked if he would ever to return to his home, in this case, Afghanistan, his response was simple -‘When the war is over.’  Immigration is not just about domestic policy, it is an all encompassing issue which touches foreign affairs, communities and local government, health and international development.  

Border Controls

Nonetheless, our borders here in the UK and across the globe are our main line of defence. At Dover and Calais we saw the stringent immigration controls – the obstacles blocking the path of migrants wishing to get to the UK. The juxtaposed controls in place due to an agreement between France and the UK have moved our UK border to France, in effect preventing most if the problem from even reaching the English Channel.

The cooperation between the UK and French authorities has never been better. By working together towards a single objective the UK border is more secure than ever before. On just one day the UK Border Force in Calais can stop over 60 people attempting to reach ‘el dorado’, between January and August 2009 a total of 15,753 individuals attempted to enter the UK illegally. Phil Woolas our Immigration Minister, earlier this year pledged £15million to our border in Calais which has been welcomed by the French who reassured us that the money would be spent wisely and that we would see positive outcomes in the near future.

Conclusion

It is encouraging that immigration has finally been brought to the forefront of the political agenda. Myths should be exploded, prejudices confronted but also legitimate concerns need to be addressed. A person with a right to work in this country who pays their taxes and contributes to our society should not be stigmatised because they are of a different ethnic origin. The target must be those operating in a shadow economy, here illegally, not paying towards public services and contributing. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has endorsed the need for an amnesty of irregular migrants, this would bring lost migrants into the light and enforce their contribution to our economy and society instead of existing in a shadow economy. Ideas such as these and many others proposed by academics and stakeholders should not be thrown out without analysis and discussion.

It’s time to build an all party consensus because when the major political parties fight over immigration there is only 1 winner – the BNP. All mainstream parties now believe in firm but fair immigration policies. But not the BNP. Their bleak vision for our country is unthinkable to the majority but not to all.  We must all work hard together to provide a better, more viable vision and seriously address the concerns of those who are inclined to tick the BNP box on polling day.

Immigration has made our country what it is today, a multicultural foundation of nationalities. Our cities are mirrors of the world. It is in our hands to ensure that that mirror does not crack.