MP Davies throws down the immigration gauntlet

A Tory MP has put the cat among the pigeons by speaking out against immigration.

David Davies,who is MP for Monmouth has said that immigration would fuel demand for new homes, including in his largely rural constituency.

 He added that there was a danger that immigration became an issue only extremists spoke about.

 According to Wales Online he said “It goes without saying that the millions of law abiding people who have come here, learned English, got jobs and integrated into society are to be made welcome and those who try to whip up prejudice based on ethnicity or where people were born should be completely condemned.

In comments that are bound to have some recuperation's he added that “At the same time we cannot escape the fact that continued large scale immigration is fuelling the demand for housebuilding, including in areas like rural Wales, even though the number of recent UK arrivals living here is small.”

 Davies who is the Conservative chairman of the Welsh Affairs Committee made the comments in a letter to Greenpeace, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales and Friends of the Earth.

According to the BBC website, Friends of the Earth Cymru director Gareth Clubb, who said he would write back to Mr Davies, said the destabilising impact of climate change would fuel migration around the world."If David Davies is concerned about immigration to Wales his first port of call should be to support very strong climate legislation,"

Cameron tackles the question nobody wants to talk about

Liam Fox may have taken taken centre stage today but it's worth focusing on our Prime Minister's speech at lunchtime where he outlined the government’s plans to get a grip on immigration into Britain.

The speech at the Institute for Government saw Mr Cameron outline a number of proposals including

stricter tests on the genuineness of a relationship for those wishing to bring partners to the UK

setting a minimum income level for those wishing to bring spouses and family here to ensure they are not placing a burden on the taxpayer

making spouses wait longer - five not two years - before they can apply to settle here, to help ensure their relationship is genuine

introducing new legislation to ensure registrars are able refuse to perform wedding ceremonies which they know to be a sham

rewriting the citizenship test to make sure British history and culture is at its heart and

rewriting the immigration rules to help prevent Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights being abused

It is of course the topic that nobody wants to talk about but it seems the PM's speech has been fairly well received in most quarters and like Europe will attract the pats on the back from his own party.

However the crux of the speech may well be floored.

Daniel Knowles writing in the Telegraph just prior to the speech claimed that there is no evidence at all that large numbers of migrants entering by the family route are living on welfare, or that current policy is failing to deal adequately with the problem of forced marriages

Why we need unskilled immigrants

As the Economist writes,

MOST OECD countries generally get two types of immigrants, low-skilled and high-skilled. Many natives are unenthusiastic about the prospect of skilled or unskilled immigrants, but they can be especially resistant to the unskilled.

And it is the unskilled type that tougher visa restrictions are effecting.In paerticular curry-chefs whose shortage

has resulted in the closings of curry houses all over Britain. Skilled workers are generally regarded as highly educated, but this just goes to show that the definition of skill may need to be broadened.

According to the BBC

The curry industry is worth £3.5bn every year - and it's demanding that the government set up an official college of curry, with a new qualification in Asian cuisine.

Harris Poll confirms ours xenophobia

This morning's Harris Poll in the FT displays some worrying statistics as regards our attitudes to foreign workers.

Following the industrial action at the Lindsey oil refinery and the regurgitation of Gordon Brown's British jobs for British workers

More than three-quarters – 78 per cent – of British adults believe immigrants should be asked to leave the country if they do not have a job, according to an FT/Harris survey published on Monday. A majority also oppose the right for other European Union citizens to work here.