What is a Britain that’s no longer British? Indeed, what are any of the European nation-states whose nationness has been hollowed out, leaving only the state behind? That’s what the UK’s home secretary, Theresa May, wants to know:
Mass immigration is forcing thousands of British people out of jobs and is making it “impossible” to build a “cohesive society”, Theresa May will say. Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, the Home Secretary will say that there is “is no case in the national interest for immigration of the scale we have experienced over the last decade”.
Mrs May, considered a potential successor to David Cameron as Tory leader, will warn that current levels of migration into the UK are unsustainable as she calls for a system “that allows us to control who comes to our country.” Managing the consequences of immigration “comes at a high price” and means building new homes and creating school places for foreigners, Mrs May will say.
And she will attack the “open-borders liberal left” as she reaffirms the Government’s bid to reduce net migration to the “tens of thousands.” Net migration – the difference between those arriving and those emigrating – rose by 94,000 last year to 330,000, breaking the record set under the last Labour government.
And this is under the supposedly conservative government headed by Cameron. If by now you’re getting the feeling that the fix is in on both sides of the Atlantic, and that the leaders of both parties are (in Brecht’s famous phrase) hell-bent on dissolving the people and electing another, you’re right on the money. Hey, just ask Jeb! Bush.
Even if we could manage all the consequences of mass immigration, Britain does not need net migration in the hundreds of thousands every year. Of course, immigrants fill skills shortages and it’s right that we should try to attract the best talent in the world, but not every person coming to Britain right now is a skilled electrician, engineer or doctor.
Already the Governent has announced that new migrants from the EU will be banned from claiming benefits in the UK for four years. Mrs May’s intervention will be seen as a sign that the government is preparing further policy aimed at addressing public concern over rising migration.
Hmmm… maybe Britain could use another Iron Lady instead of the men without chests who currently run the country.
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