THE BRITISH government has ruled out introducing immigration limits, although the issue could be a key one in dozens of marginal seats that could decide the result of the next election.
The Labour Party is increasingly facing pressure, following moves by the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the British National Party that would impose some curbs.
Communities secretary of state John Denham yesterday ruled out annual caps, saying Britain would lose out: “Suppose the first person after the cap was an international heart specialist?” he asked.
Conservative Party leader David Cameron has indicated he would limit immigration from outside the EU to “tens of thousands” annually.
A poll of nearly 60 key marginal constituencies carried out for MigrationWatch, a pressure group that favours restrictions, suggests 44 per cent of voters in Labour-held “swing” seats would back the Conservatives this year if Mr Cameron firms up his pledge.
Saying that immigration could decide the election, MigrationWatch chairman Sir Andrew Green said: “Immigration is a matter of deep concern to a large majority of the population and they are likely to respond very positively to parties that seriously address them.”
However, Mr Denham insisted: “We have got tight immigration control – the points-based system that is now in place means that people can only come here if what they are going to give to this country is something we need.”
Net immigration into Britain – the number left after those emigrating are subtracted – stood at 163,000 in 2008, down from 237,000 the year before – partly reflecting a drift home by eastern Europeans due to recession.
However, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg disagreed with Mr Cameron’s “cap” pledge, but has argued numbers coming to the southeast of England must be reduced. “Some parts of Scotland . . . and the fruit-picking trade in Lincolnshire, for example, badly need more workers to come in,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show yesterday. Britain, he said, had “a moral duty” to provide a refuge for those fleeing persecution.
Meanwhile, the UKIP, which did well in last year’s European elections, has proposed a ban on the burka and other face-covering veils by Muslim women.
The far-right British National Party has already called for it to be banned in British schools, but UKIP has become the first British party to support an outright ban on burka.
“I can’t go into a bank with a motorcycle helmet on. I can’t wear a balaclava going round the District and Circle line,” said former leader Nigel Farage. “It’s a symbol of something that is used to oppress women. It is a symbol of an increasingly divided Britain
“The real worry is that we are heading towards a situation where many of our cities are ghettoised and there is even talk about Sharia law becoming part of British culture.”
French president Nicolas Sarkozy has already opposed the wearing of the burka in France.