David Cameron rejects Cable immigration criticism

Source - BBC

 

David Cameron has hit back at criticism by cabinet colleague Vince Cable, who branded a speech by the prime minister on immigration "very unwise".

 

Mr Cameron denied his words "risked inflaming extremism" - as the business secretary claimed - saying it was a "measured" speech.

 

He said he was stating Lib Dem, as well as coalition, policy by vowing to cut immigration to "tens of thousands".

 

Mr Cable claimed that goal was not part of the coalition agreement.

 

He told the BBC's Chief Political Correspondent Laura Kuenssberg: "The reference to the tens of thousands of immigrants rather than hundreds of thousands is not part of the coalition agreement, it is Tory party policy only.

 

"I do understand there is an election coming but talk of mass immigration risks inflaming the extremism to which he and I are both strongly opposed."

'Sensible'

 

He added: "Much of the remaining immigration from outside the European Union is crucial to British recovery and growth."

 

"That's why the cabinet collectively agreed to support British business and British universities by exempting overseas students and essential staff from the cap on Non-EU immigration."

 

But the prime minister rejected the criticism, saying the policy was "sensible and measured" and that, following discussions between the coalition partners on how to reduce immigration without damaging the economy, the issue had been "settled".

 

"We have a very good and robust policy and this is the policy of the whole government," he said. "This policy is Lib Dem policy. This policy is coalition policy."

Continue reading the main story

 

In his speech, Mr Cameron praised the contribution immigration has made to British society but say the failure of some migrants to learn English is dividing communities and that forced marriages have been used to sidestep immigration controls.

 

Mr Cable has spoken out on several occasions about the economic dangers of a cap on immigration and is seen as having secured some concessions on the policy.

 

Aides to deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, who saw a copy of the speech before it was released, said he was "proud" of the coalition's "sensible" immigration policy.

 

But they added: "Cameron's language isn't what we would have used…but he's a Conservative leader talking to Conservative voters in the run-up to an election."

 

Mr Cable was "entitled to the view" that there had been a truce in the coalition over immigration policy, but that was not Mr Clegg's view, the source said.

A graph showing long-term net migration rising

 

Immigration has been a longstanding source of tension within the coalition. Before entering power, the Lib Dems were opposed to a fixed limit on immigration and backed an amnesty for some illegal incomers already living in the UK.

 

Outlining the government's policy in his speech, Mr Cameron said the UK's policy must be focused on encouraging "good immigration not mass immigration".

 

While migrants have contributed "immeasurably" to the UK and the UK "will always be open to the best and brightest from around the world and those fleeing persecution", the prime minister said net migration increased by 2.2 million between 1997 and 2009.

 

"That's the largest influx of people Britain has ever had and it has placed real pressure on communities up and down the country," he said.

 

Communities have been affected by incomers who are unable to speak English and unwilling to integrate, he argued.

 

"That has created a kind of discomfort and disjointedness in some neighbourhoods. This has been the experience for many people in our country - and I believe it is untruthful and unfair not to speak about it and address it."

 

Citing the cap on non-EU migrants, efforts to curb illegal immigration and clear the backlog of 500,000 outstanding asylum cases, Mr Cameron claimed immigration curbs are "working".

 

He pledged to crack down on "bogus colleges, providing bogus qualifications as cover for bogus visas" and to "break the link" between people being given a temporary work visa and settling permanently.

 

"If we deal with all the different avenues of migration, legal and illegal, then levels of immigration can return to where they were in the 1980s and 1990s, when immigration was not a front rank political issue.

 

Labour have accused Mr Cameron of "not being straight with people" over the issue, saying the cap will only cover 20% of non-EU migrants and the government is cutting 5,000 staff at the UK Border Agency.

 

"And whilst he is cutting one set of student visas, he is simply expanding another - student visitor visas - which he won't count in the net migration figures," said Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

 

"He has made very big promises about the level of net migration he will achieve - but hasn't set out workable, transparent policies to deliver it."

 

UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said little would change on immigration because of the UK's "open border" with the EU.

 

But former Labour minister Frank Field, co-chairman of the cross-party balanced migration group, said Mr Cameron was on the "right course" in requiring all those wishing to settle in the UK to speak basic English and making it "much tougher" for those working in the UK to eventually gain citizenship.

 

Asked about criticism of the prime minister's approach, he said immigration policy had been out of step with public opinion for many years because it had been determined by a "liberal elite".

 

"They will be angry that that period is now at an end," he told the BBC

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How typical - The economy's flat-lining, unemployment is up, Inflation/VAT/cost of fuel/cost of living spiraling out of control, the banks are still not being properly taken to task for the fact that they f**ked up the country, Lansley gets a roasting from the RCN, our involvement in Libya gets murkier and murkier. Nobody likes you, people are marching and creating civil unrest, communities are set to be hammered by cuts and the poor are getting even poorer thanks to wage freezes, cuts in pensions and benefits... So, what do you do...? Oh, you make a speech distracting everyone from all this merry hell and bang on about "immagrunts"..... Top one.. Divide and Rule, get the Scum and Hate Mail readers on track at least (and, well, we can forget about the pesky £650 million in "aid" **cough** cough** BRIBE **cough** to the Pakistan Government...)..

 

The Tories have f**king nerve to talk about Immigration "wrecking communities" as they spent pretty much the whole of the 1980s totally destroying communities in Wales, Scotland, Yorkshire, Lancashire, in fact, anywhere that was North of the Watford Gap by destroying our industry and manufacturing base... Thanks to the Tories we now actually produce SOD ALL.... How's that for "wrecking"...? But it's a cheap and predictable trick by charlatans and scoundrels to score cheap points by playing the race card and engaging in a spot of "immigrant bashing" isn't it..

 

"They dont want to integrate"... Yeah, okay, well, neither do tens of thousands of our Ex-Pats who bugger off to Spain, the South of France, Italy, etc, and set-up "Ex Pat" communities... How many of them speak a word of the local lingo? Very few.... So, here we are again, the Tories raising the double-standard... But at least Vince Cable is on hand to give them a bit of stick for it... Well, that is until they emasculate him even further for speaking his mind....

You've summed it up perfectly. My respect for Cable has plummeted since the election but he's still capable of making some very sensible comments - only to be shunned by his colleagues.

I've noticed a really alarming pattern going on with conservative leaders in Europe over the past year. Nicolas Sarkozy's approval ratings in France were at rock bottom, so, to try and boost his standing, he started deporting gypsies. Angela Merkel's approval ratings plunged, so she made a speech saying "multiculturalism has failed". Now Cameron is facing criticism on multiple fronts, so he responds by making this ridiculous scaremongering speech.

 

I don't think it's wrong to want to bring immigration down, but saying things like it "threatens the British way of life" is so absurd, reckless, and, like Cable says, pandering to extremists.

 

EDIT: I've just seen Clegg said he's "proud" of the Coalition's immigration policy - despite it being diametrically opposed to the immigration policy the Lib Dems had at the last election *facepalm*

I've noticed a really alarming pattern going on with conservative leaders in Europe over the past year. Nicolas Sarkozy's approval ratings in France were at rock bottom, so, to try and boost his standing, he started deporting gypsies. Angela Merkel's approval ratings plunged, so she made a speech saying "multiculturalism has failed". Now Cameron is facing criticism on multiple fronts, so he responds by making this ridiculous scaremongering speech.

 

I don't think it's wrong to want to bring immigration down, but saying things like it "threatens the British way of life" is so absurd, reckless, and, like Cable says, pandering to extremists.

 

EDIT: I've just seen Clegg said he's "proud" of the Coalition's immigration policy - despite it being diametrically opposed to the immigration policy the Lib Dems had at the last election *facepalm*

 

You want another *face-palm* moment.... Check out this one....

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/a...ding-immigrants

 

"Hey, immigrant, learn English... Only now we're cutting funding for ESOL lessons"..... What. The. Fukk......? :wacko: :wacko: :wacko:

 

You want another *face-palm* moment.... Check out this one....

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/a...ding-immigrants

 

"Hey, immigrant, learn English... Only now we're cutting funding for ESOL lessons"..... What. The. Fukk......? :wacko: :wacko: :wacko:

Blair promised "joined up government" and failed to deliver it. Cameron didn't even bother promising it.

Immigration policy in this country is ridiculous and not a single one of the party's is offering an actual solution.

 

If the Tory's and UKIP would stop harping on about the bloody EU for long enough to understand a couple of things 1] The 'open' border works both ways, 2] It's not an open border really given that we still have border controls to enter the UK from everywhere but Ireland and 3] I'm pretty sure sometime around the election it was revealed that net EU immigration was basically 0 as so many people were coming here and realising it was a hell hole before moving back to the slums of eastern europe as they'd get running water there and many UK nationals are moving to the mainland in the hope of escaping the utter ridiculousness of this country.

 

I fail to understand how we can have any form of immigration policy without exit controls. If we don't count them out, what's the bloody point of counting them in? Or issuing visas? If we counted people out we'd know how many people are here on tourist and student visa's that expired years ago. If this was Australia they'd have been rounded up and deported within a matter of nanoseconds. Now there is a country with the right idea! You even slightly over stay your visa in Australia and they ban you from entering the country again for 3 years. They tell you to have your visa expire at least a week after your departure date in case your flight is cancelled or a random volcano in Iceland paralyses European airspace so you don't overstay and the computer doesn't autoban you.

 

You can tell the difference between the Aussies and the Brits on TV. In the former [Nothing To Declare on Sky Living, real name Border Security: Australia's Front Line] they rarely let people stay and once your caught you don't get let go until you're cleared. The latter however [uK Border Force on Sky] rarely does anything of any use. They caught an illegal on one ep, gave him his passport back and told him to report back at the police station next week. Naturally he buggered off and hasn't been seen since :manson:

 

 

Cutting 5,000 staff from the UK Border Agency did make me lol though.

Not for the first time Cameron got his figures wrong in his speech. He said that net immigration from 1997 - 2009 was 2.2 million and described it as "the largest influx of immigrants in UK history". However, between 1990 and 1997 (when the Tories were last in power), net immigration was 2.5 million. Numbers really don't seem to be his strong point do they?

Not for the first time Cameron got his figures wrong in his speech. He said that net immigration from 1997 - 2009 was 2.2 million and described it as "the largest influx of immigrants in UK history". However, between 1990 and 1997 (when the Tories were last in power), net immigration was 2.5 million. Numbers really don't seem to be his strong point do they?

+1