Forget the Scare Tactics. Skilled Migrants Are Vital to Scotland's Future
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Summary
NEITHER bluebirds, nor anything else of that political hue, were visible over the white cliffs of Dover yesterday as Tony Blair and the Labour bandwagon rolled into town. Few can have missed the deliberate symbolism of the prime minister's choice of backdrop for his speech on immigration and asylum, an issue on which his main opponents have done most of the running - and mud slinging.
MrBlair's message was that, while there were serious concerns about the issue, it was essential to be fair to British taxpayers, genuine asylum-seekers and legal migrants who boost the British economy. Was he wise to take to this area of the electoral battlefield? The answer is that he had to, or risk being seen to be running away from it. His challenge was to counter Conservative claims that immigration is out of control without being dragged into a morally (and financially) indefensible Dutch auction in which both sides try to outdo one another in fortifying Fortress Britain. There was an element of "anything you can do . . ." in this speech, particularly the promise of 600 more immigration officers at ports. However, on the whole, this was a measured performance designed to generate light and diffuse heat.See the full content of this document
Extract
Forget the Scare Tactics. Skilled Migrants Are Vital to Scotland's Future
That was essential after a week in which mass violence threatened to erupt in the East End of London for the first time since Mosley's b...
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