Immigrants who refuse to honour British values are unwelcome, Gordon Brown said today as he pledged to do more to meet the concerns of the “mainstream majority”.
Mr Brown said he agreed that it was unfair if newcomers took advantage of Britain’s freedoms without making a fair contribution in return.
But his attempt to meet voter concerns over immigration was undermined when he was criticised by the chairman of the national statistics watchdog for exaggerating the fall in migrant numbers.
Sir Michael Scholar said that the Prime Minister had used details in his weekend podcast that were “not comparable” when claiming a recent big fall in net inward migration.
Mr Brown conceded the point today, but stuck to his theme, saying that migrant numbers had fallen by tens of thousands in the past two years.
He defended Labour’s recent record on immigration as he sought to draw the sting from a potentially inflammatory campaign issue.
Immigration is cited as the No 1 concern by many voters, more important even than the economy, and — especially with the BNP threatening an electoral challenge in some seats — Labour strategists know that they cannot ignore it.
In a speech in East London, Mr Brown called on all parties to treat immigration sensitively during the election and to unite against extremists.
Without mentioning the BNP by name, he urged solidarity against “those who want to end immigration simply because they just don’t like migrants”.
But he used the speech to say that people had a right to talk about the issue, and to sympathise with the concerns of those who may be attracted to the BNP’s message.
He cited the worries of care workers, builders, cleaners, janitors and shop workers — the “hard-pressed, hard-working majority” — and sought to address them.
“I know people think it’s unfair when it feels as though some can take advantage of the freedoms and opportunities we offer in Britain without making a fair contribution or playing by the rules. So do I.”
He added: “To those migrants who think they can get away without making a contribution, without respecting our way of life, without honouring the values that make Britain what it is, I have only one message — you’re not welcome.”
He said that Labour’s points system, which allows immigrants from non-EU countries to fill highly skilled jobs, or semi-skilled jobs that have been advertised in job centres for four weeks, had helped to bring down net inward migration.
Despite his calls for “something of a consensus” among the main parties — “none of us agree with those who would bring down the shutters around Britain entirely” — Mr Brown sought to draw a dividing line with the Conservatives.
His warning against those who “scaremonger with unsubstantiated claims about rising net inward imgration today” appeared to be aimed at the Tories. Within minutes of his speech, Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary, said that net migration had risen threefold since Labour came to power.
Mr Brown said that the Tory plan to cap non-EU migration at an as yet unspecified level was arbitrary and unworkable. It would be bad for business, he said, if employers wanted to hire someone urgently with a special skill, only to find that that year’s quota had already been filled.
“The debate isn’t about who will open all the floodgates and who will shut all doors. Neither of these are responsible options. It’s actually about the flexibility to access the skilled workers we need when we need them, and to exclude the rest,” he said.
“These are the concerns of the mainstream majority and people have a right to talk about what these issues mean for them.”
The Tories claimed credit for the intervention of Sir Michael after they lodged complaints about Mr Brown’s podcast.
In it, Mr Brown said that net inward migration had fallen from 237,000 in 2007 to 163,000 in 2008 and 147,000 last year.
Sir Michael said that the 237,000 figure was incorrect, and should have been 233,000. More seriously, he said Mr Brown had compared different sets of data.
Mr Brown responded in today’s speech by separating the two. By one measure, long-term international migration, the net figure fell from 233,000 to 163,000 between 2007-08.
According to provisional figures from the international passenger survey, the number fell from 170,000 to 147,000 in the two years to June 2009. The survey does not include incoming asylum seekers and migrants who arrive on short-term visas but stay longer.
David Cameron said he was glad that Mr Brown was addressing the issue and promised a calm, rational and sensible campaign debate.
But he said addressing the issue should be linked to welfare reform.
He said: “We need proper control of immigration. I would like to see net migration come down to the level of the 1980s and 1990s.
“But we should be explaining to people that there is a link to our failure to reform welfare with the high levels of immigration into Britain.”
Source:The Times
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