Vince Cable warns Tory leaders against stoking anti-immigration panic

The business secretary, Vince Cable, has accused the Conservatives of creating an anti-immigration panic in a doomed and damaging attempt to ward off the UK Independence party. He said the Tories were stoking an atmosphere similar to that created by Enoch Powell with his "rivers of blood" speech in the 1960s.

Cable confirmed the Liberal Democrats would not be supporting a cap on EU migrants coming to Britain, saying the policy was "not only illegal but impossible to implement".

He was echoing Nick Clegg, who has pledged to block any fresh attempts to curb immigration from the EU, insisting "this is where we draw the line".

Clegg dismissed as "pointless" Home Office proposals for a 75,000 cap on EU migrants and claimed without freedom of movement the NHS would "fall over".

The issue is certain to be one of the dividing lines between the parties at the next general election, and David Cameron will need to work hard to show he would be able to construct a viable coalition in the EU for a policy of national caps on immigration from within it.

Anna Soubry, Conservative public health minister, said she was not opposed to the Cameron plan but warned newspapers against creating fear of "stranger danger" in difficult economic times. She said some newspaper headlines on immigration made her stomach churn, adding that the majority of migrants came to Britain to work and often do work that UK nationals reject.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Cable said: "The Conservatives are in a bit of a panic here because of Ukip. Reacting in the way they are, it is not going to help them politically but it is doing a great deal of damage. The responsibility of politicians in this situation is to look at the facts and the simple point is that there is very little evidence of benefit tourism of people coming from eastern Europe. All the evidence is that they put far more into the economy in tax than they take out in benefits.

"It was right to stop abuse of the benefit systems. Freedom of movement, albeit constrained as it is in the European treaty, is an absolutely basic principle a lot of British people take advantage of.

Referring to the proposed immigration cap of 75,000 a year from the EU, floated last weekend by Theresa May, the home secretary, Cable said: "It is not going to happen and Nick Clegg has made it very clear it is not going to happen. There is a bigger picture here. We periodically get these immigration panics in the UK. I remember going back to Enoch Powell and the 'rivers of blood' and going back a century there was panic over Jewish immigrants coming from eastern Europe. The responsibility of politicians in this situation when people are getting anxious is to try to reassure them and give them facts and not panic or resort to populist measures that do harm."

In an article for the Sunday Times, Clegg wrote: "Sticking a big no-entry sign on the cliffs of Dover may be politically popular, but at a huge economic cost. What would happen if tonight every European living in the UK boarded a ship or plane and went home?

"Are we really that keen to see the back of German lawyers, Dutch accountants or Finnish engineers? Do we want the NHS to fall over and the City of London to grind to a halt?"

He said the issue was "the biggest dividing line in politics today" and that plans for a cap are arbitrary, pointless and distracting.

Cable admitted there was "quite a lot of tension" around the issue in the coalition, saying "there are big differences over fairness, tax and immigration and we will argue our corner.

"It's not just illegal, but I do not see how you implement a cap when you want people's skills and investment coming to this country. There are an awful lot of British people that benefit from the right to circulate in Europe's single market."

He added he was still fighting a battle over the rights of skilled migrants from outside the EU to come to the UK: "What we have got to stop is damaging policies that do harm." He said the measures discouraging overseas students and visa restrictions were so tight they were stopping people from China and India from doing business.

Soubry said: "The overwhelming majority that come here come to work, but clearly there are some that don't. They are a small number and they are going quite rightly going to be discouraged. The majority come to work and they benefit the country. In certain parts of the country they do the jobs that others unfortunately are not doing. Some of the headlines of some newspapers make my stomach churn. There is a fear of immigration, but we are not getting all the facts. When times are tough there is a danger we blame the stranger and history tells us that is very dangerous."

Original Article
Source: theguardian.com/
Author: Patrick Wintour