I have a colleague whose intelligence and articulacy puts many British-born people to shame. I’d swap her for 1000 BNP voters

(a) Improving border controls with the introduction of a National Border Force and reintroducing exit checks at all ports

(b) Increasing the price of work permits paid by businesses to employ immigrant workers and using the money to re-train British workers in sectors affected by immigration

(c ) Opening a pathway of earned citizenship – subject to a series of tests such as English language and public interest – for people who have lived in Britain unauthorised for at least ten years.

(a) actually makes it harder for illegal immigrants to enter the country, (b) seems to vaguely discourage giving jobs to skilled immigrants, and if not, would help sectors of our workforce retrain and (c )is to bring into the system the best people who’re currently here illegally, so that they contribute something back through taxes etc. Sid – an earned amnesty needn’t encourage more people to come – it doesn’t in other places, and all three steps need to be seen as part of a whole package. It would be harder to get into the country!!

I wonder how much of a link there is between the right-wing media sensationalism about “soft-touch Britain”, and the perception of would-be illegal immigrants? It would be ironic if, in their panic to proclaim Britain was going to the dogs because of all the “foreign scroungers”, the gutter media was actually encouraging people to come . . .

hahahaha, the libdems will NEVER be in power. This single motion has just lost you all the support you gained through insisting on a EU referendum. You are so out of touch it’s nuts.

My apologies, i thought my singling out c made my views on a and b clear – no problem with them.

A policy to grant citizenship to people here illegally will simply encourage more.

Tim:

Interest- that depends – where your money is! It’s pretty demeaning argument for immigration though.

However, I think the comments today by the Police on not having resources blows the economic argument out of the water. If it was such a benefit, it would all be paid for via council tax, taxes etc.

(a) Improving border controls with the introduction of a National Border Force and reintroducing exit checks at all ports

(b) Increasing the price of work permits paid by businesses to employ immigrant workers and using the money to re-train British workers in sectors affected by immigration

(c) Opening a pathway of earned citizenship – subject to a series of tests such as English language and public interest – for people who have lived in Britain unauthorised for at least ten years.
—————————–

I suspect you only really object to (c) – if so, you’re deliberately taking a very narrow view of what the policy is. I suspect so you can just rant.
No one is saying that people should be allowed to enter the country illegally – indeed the policy would help stop people entering the country that way. And it would help to ensure that a number of those people who had entered the country illegally made a contribution to society by bringing them back into the system – accepting that it’s not that easy to track such people down once they’re here.

http://www.in2perspective.com/nr/2006/04/-migrants-to-reduce-interest-rates-by-1-.jsp;jsessionid=3EDF72CE626478450A60840F0882AF6F

Do those who are anti-immigrant want higher interest rates?

- Quite true, very much the point.

Yawn. Why is I suspect your experience with immigrants is limited?

I object to c. People who are here illegally have already broken the law, and clearly have no respect for this country. Pity about those honest ones whom you are treating with contempt. And I have met a few.

oh – i’ve been a lib dem for over a decade. that’s how I know members avoid immigrants like the plague, whilst passing stupid resolutions which legal immigrants shake their head at.

But sure – you keep saying it’s all “nonsense and myth”. Keep watching our poll ratings go down.

(a) Improving border controls with the introduction of a National Border Force and reintroducing exit checks at all ports

(b) Increasing the price of work permits paid by businesses to employ immigrant workers and using the money to re-train British workers in sectors affected by immigration

(c) Opening a pathway of earned citizenship – subject to a series of tests such as English language and public interest – for people who have lived in Britain unauthorised for at least ten years

Lots are living in rented accomodation where the Council Tax bill will go to the landlord. In any case Council Tax is only a small proportion of total council spending.

This policy can will only encourage people to come here – Britain is notorious as a ‘soft touch’.

As for helping the economy, is it not the case that some concils don’t have enough enough money for services due to newcomers? How is it they are not paying council tax?

And the rate of immigration is unprecedent; my local areas have seen huge change in the last few years. Not that many party members see this, of course. We are far too middle class and avoid such areas – unless canvassing for votes.

It is? Care to cite a source? Even the Migration Watch study didn’t find that unless I’m very much mistaken, and they were trying to look for negatives. Migration Watch in fact found that we all benefit, and the economy is better off.

They tried to spin it differently, but their own study said otherwise.

Keeping costs down helps us all, in many ways. Especially given that there’s still an excess demand for people willing to take lower end jobs.

Give us a link to an authorative study with “all the evidence”? Please?

You know that we’ve touched a nerve with the other parties when they accuse us of “living in a fantasy world”.

Trying to duck the hard questions about immigration will eventually come back to bite both Labour and the Tories – are we now the only major party taking this seriously?