MacDougall welcomes positive proposals to deal with asylum abuse 09/07/04

William MacDougall, Parliamentary candidate for Tottenham, has welcomed a new Conservative action plan to combat Britain's immigration crisis - which has seen a 57 per cent rise in inward migration since 1997.

MacDougall says the Tories have positive proposals to deal with abuse in the system, including fresh controls on work permits and the reintroduction of embarkation controls for non-EU states, which Labour scrapped six years ago.

MacDougall declared:

"It is clear Labour has let the country down over Immigration. In 7 years of power this Labour Government has ignored the growing crisis.Their refusal to act has given a green light to abuses in the system, and has also damaged community relations."

Pointing out that between 1994 and 1997, inward migration to the UK rose by 4 per cent, while between 1997 and 2002, it rocketed by 57.3 per cent, William MacDougall accused Labour of "losing their grip" on the immigration system, "Managed migration affects so many areas of life that it should be a priority to get it right. I am determined to do just that," he added.

Tory plans to tackle immigration abuse includes restoring the embarkation controls for non-EU countries abolished by the Blair government in 1998, thereby providing a record of who is leaving the
country and giving the authorities intelligence on who is in the country and who is not.  He also wants to revive strict control on work permits, which would be based on a proper assessment of local economic demand, and the impact on public services and wider infrastructure.

Most importantly, while genuine asylum seekers should be welcomed, applications should be processed much more quickly and if they are found to be bogus the applicants should be expelled.  Most claims do turn out to be bogus, and most of these claimants are allowed to remain even after their applications are recognised as unfounded.

The Conservatives would also remove the ‘presumption of settlement'.  People can apply, under this rule, for a grant of settlement after 4 years of working in the UK.  In government, the Conservative party would give priority to ensuring that ports of entry are properly manned by immigration officers.

ENDS.