Nick Clegg and Simon Hughes had an article in Liberator magazine recently outlining the policy proposals they will be putting to the party’s autumn conference. That article is online, and there is also a flavour of the plans in today’s Independent:
Up to 600,000 illegal immigrants should be given the right to “earn” full citizenship, the Liberal Democrats said yesterday. It is the first major party to lean towards advocating an amnesty for such migrants.
Nick Clegg, the party’s home affairs spokesman, said a route to citizenship was the only way to deal with people who may have been in Britain – but outside the legal system – for many years. Under the plans, to be debated by the party’s annual conference next month, people who have lived in Britain for a decade, have no criminal record and show a long-term commitment to the country could gain citizenship.
The full story is on The Independent’s website.
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15 Comments
Three or four of the six Labour DL candidates were either in full support of or almost persuaded by the idea of earnt regularisation of migrants with refugee or ILR status. Ken clearly also is. But there is some resistance from the triangulists who worry about soft racists. You will not agree but these, the soft racists, are sometimes stirred up by several of the opposition parties in communalist campaigns.
Lets hope the foreign wives of British citizens will also be able to be given citizenship.
Many of the restrictions, English language test etc, result in the wholesale refusal for this group.
give everybody the right to live where ever they want and God will bless you
I personally am not convinced of the benefits of immigration. But I’ll do a Bruce Anderson and never criticise the leader in public 🙂
Surely it’s that significant term “illegal immigrant”.
So we’ve a starting point:
An illegal immigrant is a person, not being a citizen of the country, entered into that country without a valid sanction, or one continues to stay in a country after the expiry of his/her valid stay in that country.
OK: take it from there. Or did I miss something?
Any citizen of the EU, properly certificated, is obviously not an “illegal immigrant”.
Anyone certified by the Immigration Service, with valid documentation, is not an “illegal immigrant”.
An asylum seeker is not an “illegal immigrant”.
What we are left with are those who have consciously attempted to evade the normal channels.
So, what’s the problem? (Apart from the Daily express, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph on a bad day, the BNP, …)
Yes, but anyone who enters the EU through the back door can get into Britain, EU citizen or not.
To tell you the truth, immigration and Euroscepticism are causes which appeal well beyond that headbanging right which we’re all against.
asquith @ 9:31 pm:
Sorry, not legally so (which is the point of this thread).
The UK didn’t sign up for the Schengen Treaty. As I recall, LibDems thought we should. Ummm.
Now, do you want to talk about what happens next? Passport control between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK? Do we have a position on that?
im really soory but I didn’t find another way.my son BEN HADJA ELHOUARI entered england illigally and i heard that he is in the immegration center for minor.
i have no news since 4 months his mother is really ill normally he would be released on 27th march. i have no news please if you can, just an email to tell me if he is still in or out
alive or dead. im really sorry again
god bless you all
thanks ([email protected]
it;s such a easy problem but home office still not sort them out.
just give them status ,and let them find job their self,cos most illegal immigrant they working really hard .
and the govement no need to worried about how much going to waste a lot of money.mostly they worried about after they gain the status and they have right to claim benifit,but before give them status just make a rule,such like benifit is unable to claim or given when you don;t have like a periot of paying tax.
that;s such easy things ,don;t understand why govement still arguing so much about it.
just let them stay ,otherwise there is so many uncountable illegal immigrant,if u want to make them left the county , govenment need XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX pound and may take 30 years or more time to take them.
and after that just improve the immigrantion control ,make less illegal people enter.
sorry my bad english
most illegal people who stay in uk, We just want to make money and had beter life. No one would like doing crime or offence in certain suituation.So just let them stay ,and less crime have a peaceul socierty.
otherwise govement doing too much job to force them leave ,it just made us get on the way with crime. am i right?
I have a friend who has been living in the uk for quite a while and ive known him for 2 years,i just think hes the most sincere, hardworking person ive met. The reason he came to the uk was because there were problems with his family and another family.
Back home things became worse when his life was threatened so he was forced to leave as he couldnt stay there anymore.
Now im not trying to say all illegal people are genuine some are here for a better life others are here for fun they want to experiment. Its those the ones who want to come to the UK just to see what its like and who experiment that should go back home to their country as there is no harm awaiting them,they probably have a more comfortable life living there than here. The only problem is that we cant distinguish who tells the truth and who doesnt. i can definatly say that my friend is genuine hand on heart,there is no one more deserving than him who should get the right to stay in the UK.I wish him good luck
because of illegal ppeople lives in this country their s more unemployment as this people work for less amount with out paying tax so this is loss of the country,
we all see crimes going on because of this people who comes and stay here,we all knows that this s bad for the country to get involve in this all but i suggest we should catch them as this will make our country neat and happy
I Thing its not fair for people who are living legally in uk
people who comes to stay illegal here works more just to earn money and this makkes them do illegal works too,i myself know so many people who lives here illegal some do good thing but back do wrong thing also
police try to catch them but no thing i just want that people who have rights can leave here this makes the unemployment goes down and all illegal people working in security also but no one catch them
i m still here sor five months but not getting job just because of this illegal people capture the uk full
some have illegal passport also
but no polic can catch them why why
i just need to ask people
ARE YOU SAFE AS BEFORE ?????????
IS THEIR CRIME MORE OR LESS?????????
I THING GOVERNMENT SHOULD MAKE A OFFICER JUST TO CATCH THEM WITH NO BAIL
THIS S NOT MY MAIL ID BUT I CATCH THIS MAIL AGAIN AND AGAIN BUT I THING THEIR SHOULD BE FAIR WITH LEGAL PEOPLE
OTHERWISE THEIR WILL BE ILLEAGEL PEOPLE COME MORE AND MORE
THANK U
Hello! but british people are way more worse then illegal immigrants.
Most illegal immigrants just want to work here and have a nice life, no crime. Where as british people don’t want to work, are too lazy, just blaming the reason why they are not working because illegal immigrants have stolen thier jobs, what aload of rubbish! I feel safe with illegal immigrants being here, its the BRITISH teenagers that is making people scared and doing most of the crime.
By the way I’M british, but sometimes I wish I wasnt!
Of course people who come here as asylum seekers should be entitled to work to support themselves. Yes, we should sign up to Schengen – that would take care of
the problem identified by Asquith and Malcolm Redfellow. As for those respondents who speak of relatives being lost in the system of detention centres, I can only express my deep sorrow and shame that Britain which used to be so welcoming to the homeless and the stateless (people like my father in the 1930s) should have
descended to locking up children indefinitely.