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		Under Labour, immigration is out of control Lincolnshire Echo - April 10 2004 Sometimes, just sometimes, it is encouraging to be vindicated by events. For many months now, I have been warning of the threat posed by uncontrolled immigration, especially (but not only) from the ten new EU "accession states" which will be joining the EU on May 1st. The accession treaties provide for a delay of up to seven years for the existing fifteen member-states in opening their borders to the "free movement of people" from the new countries. Virtually all have taken advantage of these provisions. Britain is the only major EU country whose government has declared open house from Day One, so that we are sure to get the lion's share of this immigration. My warnings have attracted the usual response from the politically correct, especially from Labour MEP Phillip Whitehead, who makes veiled accusations of racism - despite the fact that immigrants from the accession states will be white Europeans. Perhaps he had me in mind when he coined the phrase "suave messengers of hate and fear". Suave or not, my warnings have been abundantly justified. Steve Moxon, the whistle-blower from the Immigration Service, spoke of "a concealed policy of encouraging historically unprecedented levels of net inward immigration" - and he should know! Then came stories of applications from Romania and Bulgaria (not even amongst the ten current accession states) being waved through, despite obviously fraudulent supporting documents. This government's reaction has been, first of all, to deny the problem. Then it blames civil servants, and insists that we are looking at a few isolated cases. Finally, when the huge scale of abuses can no longer be denied, the Immigration Minister resigns, and Tony Blair hosts an emergency summit. As usual, Labour tries to get the right headlines, but ignores the underlying problem. They try to sell us the sizzle, not the steak. But more and more voters are getting wise to the ploy, and asking "Where's the beef?". It's not as though this is the first time. We saw it in the NHS. Labour declared aggressive targets for shorter waiting lists, and then fiddled the figures like mad to get a result. Never mind if in-growing toenails get treated before cancer patients. Never mind if operations are cancelled repeatedly at forty-eight hours notice, so as not to go on the "Late cancellation" list. Never mind if patients wait months to see a specialist, creating a waiting list to go onto the waiting list. When Tony Blair realised the public were concerned about asylum seekers, he set a bold target (and got a good headline). He would halve the level of asylum applications (although even that would leave a higher level than under the last Conservative government). Labour soon realised that the easiest way to reduce the numbers of asylum seekers is to hand out visas and work permits like confetti. Why would anyone bother to apply for asylum if the door is already open? But Labour tells us that our economy needs immigrants. Trade Minister Patricia Hewitt calls for a programme of "managed immigration". And do you know, I think she's right. Let's be quite clear about this (before Phillip Whitehead sits down at his typewriter!). Conservatives have no objection in principle to immigration. We recognise the contribution that immigrants have made to our country and our economy. We admire those who work hard and seek to integrate into our society. When I look at Michael Howard, I don't think "East European Jewish immigrant". I think "Leader of the Conservative Party". Our objection is not to "managed immigration", but to Labour's immigration chaos. We object to the present free-for-all, which undermines public confidence and plays into the hands of extreme right-wing parties. We object to a Home Secretary who tells us, with refreshing candour, that he has no idea how many foreigners are in Britain illegally. We object to a level of immigration which puts intolerable stress on our health-care, and housing, and social services. We object to a government that talks tough on immigration, while pursuing a concealed policy of unprecedented immigration levels.