Immigration

Talking to local people and the issues that concern them, immigration is one of the most common concern for people to raise with me. Often people feel afraid of raising it with me as they fear being accused of racism. I believe though that having a robust immigration policy is entirely compatible with having good race relations.

I am pleased that the Government is proposing tougher entrance criteria. Placing a cap on immigration and increasing the requirements on immigrants to be able to speak English are essential measures. It is also essential that we create a UK Border Police Force that is able to enforce our immigration laws. The Government is committed to reforming the immigration system to achieve its overall aim of reducing net migration and introduce an annual limit on migrants from outside the EU.

I have never criticised those who want to come to our country in order to make a better life for themselves and their families. My criticism is of the systems that allow abuse to take place. We have seen people traffickers exploiting people for their own ends and the sad sight of children being locked up in detention centres. This all needs to end and to achieve this we need to bring immigration under control. We need also to end the abuse of the student visa system.

We must be more selective about who can come here and how long they can stay. Immigration in to the UK can be a beneficial thing for the Country but we need to stop the abuse.