John Baron

Conservative Party | Billericay and District

Points of View

Immigration and Asylum

When one discusses immigration and asylum, there are always the few who accuse one of being racist.   Yet I would contend that by not rationally discussing these issues, we are playing into the hands of the extremists in our society.

The resignation of the immigration Minister, Beverly Hughes MP is recognition that the immigration system is in a state of shambles.  Ministers were warned by Civil Servants 18 months ago that a giant immigration fraud was undermining entry controls from Bulgaria and Romania - yet did nothing.  What is needed now is a proper independent inquiry into the crisis.

Since Labour came to power in 1997 immigration numbers have jumped dramatically, being mostly between 50,000 to 60,000 each year between 1982 and 1997 and then rising steadily to 115,895 by 2002. We need to ensure and have confidence that all those coming to work in this country are genuine and have been vetted properly; otherwise public confidence in the system will plummet further.
 
We must also get to grips with our chaotic asylum policy.  There are still considerably more asylum seekers coming to Britain now than in 1997, with Britain being the most popular destination within the EU. 

And yet, whilst 2003 figures show that 4 out of every 5 asylum seekers were refused asylum, the Government continues to miss its targets on the removal of failed asylum seekers.  Labour pledged to remove 30,000 in 2003/04 - the numbers actually removed were 17,000. 

The Governments failure on this issue is such that Migration Watch, and independent watch body, has stated that during the last 5 years, 9 out of every 10 asylum seekers have stayed in the UK regardless of the merits of their case.  It is a simple fact that the asylum system has broken down.

No one is looking to discriminate against an individual, a minority or immigrants in general.  Britain has a very proud history of being a very tolerant nation and this must continue.  But political correctness must not stop us from discussing and correcting the chaos that presently exists in our immigration and asylum systems - otherwise we will be leaving very fertile ground for those parties at the political margin.

Fun Walk - 23rd May

We now have 34 local charities and good causes participating in our annual sponsored 'Fun Walk' on Sunday at Barleylands Farm.

Proceedings start at 1pm, so please feel free and join us for what we hope again will be a fun afternoon for the whole family.  You do not actually have to walk but by being there and enjoying the festivities, including a live band and BBQ, you will be helping to raise money for local causes.