MASS IMMIGRATION

A Church of England bishop has said that Christians should learn from Muslims how to exist as a “minority” culture in British cities that are increasingly dominated by immigrant communities. The Rt Rev Nick Baines, the Bishop of Bradford, said some parishes in his diocese were 95% Muslim but that this should not be seen as “a problem”. He told the General Synod, the Church of England’s national assembly, in York, “This is a fantastic opportunity. It is a challenge, yes, but it’s an opportunity to rethink what it means to be a Christian community. We often ask Muslims to learn what it is to be a Muslim as a minority culture. Maybe we could benefit from learning some of the same lessons in some of our cities.”

His comments came as Church leaders at the assembly were warned that Britain's increasingly diverse society could undermine the position of the Church of England as the “established” faith of the nation. In some communities, Anglicans have become “beleaguered” because Christians are so outnumbered by members of other faiths, according to a report presented to the Synod. However, Synod members recognised that the Church needed to adapt to Britain’s increasingly diverse society and backed moves to recruit more ethnic minority candidates to leaderships positions such as bishops. They voted overwhelmingly in favour of a plan to tackle the Church’s “pale, male and stale” image by using methods that have been described as “favouritism” and “positive discrimination”.

The move came after a report by the Venerable Daniel Kajumba, Archdeacon of Reigate, showed only 1.1% of bishops, archdeacons and cathedral deans posts are filled by ethnic minority candidates. The four ethnic minority clergy in these roles are Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, the Rt Rev David Hamid, Suffragan Bishop of Europe, The Very Rev Rogers Govender, Dean of Manchester Cathedral, and himself in his post as Archdeacon of Reigate, he said. This was in spite of congregations of up to 90% ethnic minorities in inner cities, and a growing proportion of ethnic minority worshippers in rural and suburban areas. (Source: Daily Telegraph, Jul/11)

The Migrationwatch think tank has just released a copy of the uncensored Home Office Economics and Resources Analysis Unit and the Cabinet Office Performance and Innovation Unit document which proves that mass immigration to Britain is a political tool used by the Labour Party to socially engineer society for its own ends. This document, available here, was given restricted circulation in October 2000 and was obtained by Migrationwatch UK under a Freedom of Information Act request to the Cabinet Office.

Migrationwatch said, “The massive increase in immigration under Labour was a deliberate policy undertaken for ‘social’ as well as economic reasons." In an article for the Evening Standard last October, Andrew Neather, a former speech writer for Blair, Straw and Blunkett in the early 2000s, revealed that mass immigration “didn’t just happen: the deliberate policy of Ministers from late 2000 until at least February last year… was to open up the UK to mass migration.”

According to Migrationwatch, Mr Neather went on to describe a Government policy document which he had helped to write in 2000. He said that “drafts were handed out in summer 2000 only with extreme reluctance: there was paranoia about it reaching the media.” The paper was eventually surfaced as a purely technical product of the Research Department of the Home Office but earlier drafts that he saw “included a driving political purpose: that mass immigration was the way that the Government was going to make the UK truly multicultural.”

He remembered “coming away from some discussions with the clear sense that the policy was intended, even if this wasn’t its main purpose, to rub the Right’s nose in diversity and render their arguments out of date.” Migrationwatch have now obtained an earlier draft of that policy paper, circulated in October 2000, and have compared it to the version eventually published in 2001 by the Home Office Research Department as a rather obscure economic paper. The draft had already been censored but it was to be neutered still further. In the Executive Summary six out of eight references to “social” objectives were removed from the version later published.

These included a remark that “the entry control system is not closely related to the stated policy objectives. This is particularly true in the social area, where in the past the implicit assumption has largely been that keeping people out promotes stability.” Also cut out was a statement that “in practice, entry controls can contribute to social exclusion” as well as other politicised passages in the main body of the document. Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch, said, “Andrew Neather later tried to play down the significance of his revelations but these documents show that his original account was correct."

He added, "Labour had a political agenda which they sought to conceal for initiating mass immigration to Britain. Why else would they be so anxious to remove any mention of social aspects unless they feared that they would reveal their true motives? Only now that their working class supporters are deserting them in droves have they started to talk about restricting immigration. Our population is heading rapidly towards 70 million, largely as a result of immigration, but they still refuse to set any limits.”

Migrationwatch also pointed out that the Labour manifesto of 1997 made no reference to an increase in immigration. It said only that “Every country must have firm control over immigration and Britain is no exception.” Furthermore, the think tank said, the Labour manifesto issued in 2001, after the publication of this document, said only that “People from abroad make a positive contribution to British society. As our economy changes and expands, so our rules on immigration need to reflect the need to meet skill shortages.”

Finally, research into voting patterns was conducted for the Electoral Commission in May 2005, just after the last election. The “Black and Minority Ethnic Survey”, conducted by MORI, asked which party respondents had voted for in 2005. Of Caribbean and African voters, 80% had voted Labour, 2–3% Conservative and 5–11% Liberal Democrat. Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshis voted 56%, 50% and 41% for Labour. The equivalent figures for the Conservatives were 11%, 11% and 9% while Lib Dems came in at 14%, 25% and 16%. Mixed and other categories were similar to the Asians. (Source: BNP, Feb/10)

The Key to Immigration is a 4½ hour long, high quality, comprehensive DVD guide to living, working, studying or visiting the UK if you are from any country outside the EU. It is also available to be watched as a streaming video and provides a comprehensive overview of the most popular UK visa categories and immigration applications. It simplifies and clarifies not only the highly complex UK immigration laws but also the procedures and requirements you will need to follow which are often equally important as even a small error can result in a visa refusal on a technicality. UK immigration lawyers explain in detail the eligibility and application procedures for over 35 different UK visa categories as well as permanent residence (Indefinite Leave to Remain) applications and citizenship (naturalisation) applications.

Most chapters are dedicated to one type of visa application though some discuss and compare more than one. At the end of each chapter there is a review which summarises on-screen all the key points. This DVD contains a goldmine of information which should help you understand which category or categories of visa best apply to you and explains how you could qualify. The same information that is available in this DVD could easily cost over £1,000 if you consulted an immigration lawyer. This DVD is perfect for workers, employers, entrepreneurs, investors, business people, asylum seekers, students, visitors, relatives, spouses, civil partners, unmarried partners, fiancé(e)s, and anyone else with questions regarding UK immigration law and procedures.

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Benefits tourists are set to get the green light to come to Britain and immediately claim handouts totalling £2.5billion a year. According to documents, ministers have been warned that restrictions on claims by immigrants are against the law and must be scrapped. The European Commission's ruling threatens to open the door to tens of thousands who are currently deterred from coming to Britain. At the moment, a 'habitual residency test' is used to establish whether migrants from the EU are eligible for benefits. To qualify for jobseeker's allowance, employment support allowance, pension credit and income support, they must demonstrate that they either have worked or have a good opportunity to get a job.

But after receiving a complaint that the rules infringed the human rights of EU citizens, the Commission began to examine them. In a letter it warns that the restrictions are 'not compatible' with EU law. It says: "EU law leaves it to member states to determine the details of their social security schemes and social assistance schemes, including the conditions on awarding benefits. However, when making use of this competence, member states have to comply with the fundamental principles of EU law, such as the right to equal treatment on the basis of nationality. Having examined the “right to reside” test... it is not compatible with different legal provisions of EU law."

The letter, written to the individual who made the complaint and copied to the British government, is dated last December, but Whitehall sources claim ministers in the outgoing Labour government failed to argue against the proposals.The Commission has begun legal proceedings against Britain to get restrictions on welfare claims by incomers scrapped. If successful, the Government would be required to remove its deterrents to benefit tourism, including the right-to-reside test and an additional qualification for those claiming jobseeker’s allowance, that they must have worked for 12 months or more. Officials warn the bill could be between £1.3billion and £2.5billion a year, hampering plans to rein in welfare spending.

However, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith is understood to be determined to fight the move through the courts if necessary. The Whitehall source warned, "This has the potential to open the doors of the benefits system to anyone coming here from the entire European economic area, who may have no intention of working or even looking for work but simply wants to claim benefits. We already have enough of a problem managing people who want to come here. But this would open up a whole new wave of benefit tourism." (Source: Daily Mail, Sep/10)