Gordon Brown: New rules can make our immigration system tougher and fairer

Friday, 13 November 2009

Share
Close
- Digg
- del.icio.us
- Facebook
- Reddit
- Google
- Stumble Upon
- Fark
- Newsvine
Print
Email

We live in a fast-changing world – and government must change to meet the new challenges. Our immigration system is a very clear example.

In 1997 we inherited an immigration system with 80 different categories, a small and old-fashioned Immigration Service, and a paper-based system for recording entry and exit which the previous government had accepted was unworkable but had no plans to change.

This was a system which was clearly not ready to respond to the new global trends that were already evident. As these trends continued in our first few years in government, our first priority became to reform our asylum system to deal with the worldwide increase in asylum applications.

And as those reforms succeeded and numbers came down, our priority in the last two years, as I have set out, has been to reform our system of entry for working migrants.

The changes I have set out today – the new points-based system on entry, and the proposed points-based system for citizenship – amount to far more than a different mechanism for handling immigration. Together they constitute a fundamental reform of a decades old system – a reform founded on the British values of personal responsibility and civic duty.

They are aimed at ensuring our economy continues to attract and retain the highly skilled workers we need, whilst reinforcing the rights and responsibilities of newcomers, and the expectations society has of them at every stage.

They amount to a fundamental restatement of what we expect of those who aspire to British citizenship and how we intend to strengthen the idea of what it means to be British.

I am proud of my country – and I am proud to be British. For this is a country of diversity and yet solidarity; of different cultures and yet universal values. And we will always be a country that, whatever the challenges we face, can never be broken by anyone or anything.

For we will never compromise on the enduring British ideal that rights and opportunities will always be matched by clear responsibilities. Because that is what a Britain of fairness and responsibility means to me.

Taken from the Prime Minister's speech at Ealing Town hall in west London yesterday

Comments

( Leave a comment )

Fudge

marph45 wrote:

Friday, 13 November 2009 at 12:51 am (UTC)

The open door policy upon the accession of the East European Countries to the EU was negligence. France and Germany knew what would happen and negotiated an opt out to the free movement of labour. We did not, this resulted to absorb something like an additional one million people. The influx led to an increased xenophobic approach. If Brown is serious, then, he should not waste money on detention centres, deport foreign criminals and put in place a proper management to run our immigration system.

Link | Reply | Thread

re fudge

1fontana wrote:

Friday, 13 November 2009 at 07:09 am (UTC)

Are the inner city ghettos in the UK populated with non working East europeans, no , and the next meal you consume was proberly harvested by hard working tax paying east europeans that live in rented accommodation.

Link | Reply | Thread

He used to be global.

thorntongate wrote:

Friday, 13 November 2009 at 09:09 am (UTC)

As a long-time supporter of global 'free' markets, you might think Brown would defend immgration.

Global 'free' markets need a global 'free' labour market, it's a critical component in controlling wage levels.

But I don't think Brown would like you to realise that, with an election coming up.

Link | Reply | Thread

Labour won't stop immigration. The more the merrier so far aws they are concerned.

rozr wrote:

Friday, 13 November 2009 at 08:14 pm (UTC)

Take careful note of what Labour are really up to. Labour decided, we now know, to flood this country with immigrants of the type who'd gratefully always vote Labour. The many indigenous English who either couldn't be bothered to work due to high benefits Labour lavished on them or who couldn't get jobs because immigrants took them at much lower pay will probably mostly continue to vote Labour if they vote at all "because they always have voted Labour" and of course because Labour cushions them with benefits.

Labour made clear they intended to smash the Tory party with this policy. Now Labour don't find themselves that popular, so what can they do to please the English voters? Of course, suddenly pretend they are going to be very tough on immigration because the past policy was a bit of a mistake.

No, it wasn't a Labour mistake, it wasn't carelessness or negligence, it was carefully thought through, their Cunning Plan, and part 2 of the Cunning Plan is to fool you who might vote against Labour over immigration that Labour will continue to be your friends.

If Labour don't get a good majority in the next election but stay in power with or without LibDem backing, my bet is the borders will remain open to as many immigrants as Labour can entice in, to continue their policy to smash the Tory party for ever and stay in power for ever - which was you will recall what they boasted they could do back in about 2001 after their second win. Labour stopping immigration is a pipe dream, immigratoin is serving their purpose and they'll ensure it continues in large numbers - unless immigrants suddenly start voting Tory in huge numbers. Now that really would be amusing as it could help stop Labour winning for decades??

Link | Reply | Thread