You may ask what could have inspired me to write such a headline. Well, it’s none other than George himself.
As Iain Martin has blogged – twice, he found the Tory shadow chancellor’s state of denial so bizarre – George Osborne has issued a message to Tory supporters assuring them:
It’s been another great week for our campaign.”
Hmmm, and “Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”
But then it’s not been a good day for George, having already launched friendly fire against Boris Johnson by attacking the Tory London mayor’s own policy of an amnesty for illegal immigrants.
‘How can [the Lib Dems] control immigration by giving an amnesty for illegal immigrants?’ asks George, as the Tories search desperately for ways to blunt the Lib Dems’ advance.
The Lib Dems propose a route to earned citizenship where people would have to have lived in this country for 10 years, have a clean record, speak English and want to live here long-term. In contrast, Boris Johnson would offer an amnesty to people who had been here for just five years, as he has written himself:
Should we have a mass programme of expulsions, because that hasn’t worked: it’s legally incredibly difficult, (and) it’s expensive for the state, or should we see if we can develop a sensible system of earned amnesty, so after a substantial period of time – and I would say more than five years – you can, in principle demonstrate your commitment to this society and to this economy. And you can earn your right to stay here.”
Can I just say: I agree with Boris.
Its no wonder the Tories do their best to keep George Osborne out of the limelight as much of the time as possible.
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6 Comments
Two more great weeks to go George 🙂
At least he isn’t a FOREIGNER like HALF-EUROPEAN NICK CLEGG.
“At least he isn’t a FOREIGNER like HALF-EUROPEAN NICK CLEGG.”
It’s rather funny that you should say that, as – like Nick Clegg – George Osborne has recent Continental ancestry. His maternal grandmother, Clarisse Loxton Peacock, was born in Budapest, and according to her Times obituary “never lost a powerful Hungarian accent”.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article486298.ece
Being British, from Britain, a country within Europe, aren’t we, in fact, all European?
I’ve been to the continent. It’s nice. Those that haven’t should try it.
Andrew
Yes, thank you for pointing that out.
At least Nick Clegg’s ancestry is ALL EUROPEAN, not like ONE-EIGHTH-JAPANESE IAIN DUNCAN SMITH.
And of course, as he readily boasts, Boris is quarter Turkish even if it doesn’t show through the blondness, which is another illustration of the paradox that, diverse though they often are by origin, Tories seem to default to narrow nationalism all to readily – the nadir of this being the half-spanish Portillo wrapping himself in the Union Jack while bigging up the SAS at a conference speech.