Brown portrays UKIP, BNP and the Conservatives as xenophobes on immigration
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8595973.stm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...enophobia.html
Quote:
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has stepped up his pre-election rhetoric on immigration by telling would-be illegal migrants: "You are not welcome." Mr Brown said there had been a significant drop in asylum claims and net immigration thanks to Labour's "tough and hard-headed" policy. But he warned against scaremongering and urged a "united front" among the main parties to combat xenophobia. The Tories said Mr Brown had "failed on immigration" and had no new ideas. Net immigration - the difference between those entering and leaving the country - has gone up from 47,500 when Labour came to power in 1997 to 163,000 in 2008, according to the Office for National Statistics. The Conservatives say they want to get it back down to mid-1990s levels - with the aid of an annual cap on work permits issued to people from outside the EU through the points-based migration system.
But Mr Brown sought to differentiate between the position of parties such as the BNP and UKIP and "mainstream parties" who he said share a consensus that immigration is a positive force in British society and a necessary contributor to economic growth. He told the audience "how we conduct this debate is as important as the debate itself". And he called on mainstream parties to unite against "those who want to end immigration not because of the pressures it places on our communities but simply because they don't like migrants". Giving his reaction to Mr Brown's speech, Conservative leader David Cameron said: "I'm delighted that the prime minister has converted to the cause of controlled migration, but people will wonder what he has been doing for the last few years."
The Lib Dems favour a policy of earned citizenship for illegal immigrants - dubbed an "amnesty" by their opponents. They also say they would channel skilled migrant workers to parts of the country where there are labour shortages, away from the overcrowded South-East of England. The big three parties are facing a general election challenge in some parts of the country from the UK Independence Party and the British National Party - both want to withdraw from the EU and introduce far tougher immigration policies. The BNP wants want an immediate end to all immigration to the UK, including from other EU countries, and a programme of "voluntary repatriation".
UKIP wants a five-year freeze on immigration for permanent settlement and work permits for EU citizens. The party's leader in Brussels, Nigel Farage, told BBC Radio 4's The World at One Labour has "lost control" of immigration but the UK would continue to have an "open door" while it was a member of the EU. If industries needed certain skilled workers during the 5-year freeze they would be given "a time specific work permit" but not the right to "settle in this country, bring their family and to contribute to what is now the most overcrowded country in Europe," said Mr Farage.
When all else fails they play the racism/xenophobic card, implying it at least. Not only is he directly attacking UKIP and the BNP on this issue but he is attacking the Conservatives also with the hidden message/warning that basically if you dont agree with the open door policy of Labour then you are a racist/xenophobe and has attacked Tory 'scare-tactics' on immigration. This man and his party have had since 1997 [13 years] to grapple this issue and strangely it is only now with an election weeks away that he pledges to be tough in immigration, more fool you if you fall for more of his lies. The Conservatives, while having a better policy than that of Labours (whether or not they'd implement this is another issue) are also stuck because they have no control what so ever over immigration from the European Union.
Controlling immigration - do you really believe him?