No Sign of Clarity on Immigration

Jeremy Warner noted recently that within 45 years the UK will be Europe's largest economy but that position will have been won by a growth in population based upon immigration.  Quoting from a 2015 "Ageing Report" he notes that net immigration into the UK will continue at current elevated levels for much of the period, adding a further 9 million to the population by 2060.  This is a salutary revelation  with profound implication for our culture and the infrastructure that supports our way of life eg schools, hospitals and public services (to say nothing of Armed Forces recruitment).  Of course, projections and extrapolations can prove inaccurate but we have to start somewhere.  I would far rather have a plan for the worst case scenario rather than blunder on in hope that the statisticians and forecasters will be proved wrong in practise.

Most reasonable people are not against immigration of itself but it is perfectly reasonable to demand honesty about its impact.  Further, we have a right to expect that, if we have an immigration policy, our border controls are capable of implementing it.

The current Labour Party disarray over immigration policy must have come as an early Christmas present to the Conservative strategists.  I would be sharing the back-slapping and glad-handing if there was any evidence to show that the Conservative policy was any more coherent.  I remarked before that David Cameron had made a promising start in his recent major speech and he had provided some hope, albeit in a non-specific sort of way.  What we need now, however, is evidence of intent.