TRUTH ABOUT LABOUR AND IMMIGRATION
90% of households established at height of open-door policy headed by a migrant
MIGRANTS set up nine out of ten households formed at the height of Labour’s open borders policy.
Between 1997 and last year, 65 per cent of the country’s 2.7million extra housing units were headed by a foreigner.
And in the peak period – 2005 to 2009 – the figure rose to a staggering 89 per cent.
MigrationWatch researchers say the influx – the equivalent of a new home being needed every four minutes – pushed up property prices and rents.
The campaign group’s report came as Ed Miliband yesterday claimed he would get a grip on immigration. He said Labour would implement a ‘clear, credible and concrete plan’ within 100 days of taking power.
But MigrationWatch said his party was responsible for the number of English households headed by a migrant rising from 8 per cent in 1997 to 14 per cent last year.
A household is classed as ‘one person living alone, or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room or sitting room or dining area’.
The striking figures for 2005-09 reflect the huge numbers of people arriving here from Eastern Europe.
It is not possible to draw a precise link between the number of households and the number of homes taken by migrants because more than one household may live under the same roof.
But the report, based on data from the Office for National Statistics, said immigration ‘must have contributed to driving up both house prices and rents’.
Between 2005 and 2014, an annual average of 133,000 additional households were headed by a person born overseas.
In the past five years – during which the Tories brought immigration under control, only for numbers to spike again – the aver- age was 115,000. The MigrationWatch report says: ‘If each additional immigrant household over the last ten years had been provided with a new dwelling we would have had to build the equivalent of 133,000 homes a year – that is over 360 a day or one every four minutes.’
In a speech yesterday, Mr Miliband claimed: ‘We will deal with people’s concerns because we have listened, we have learned and we have changed.’
But his words were immediately undermined by a refusal to put any upper limit on the numbers to be allowed in.
Later, Labour’s immigration spokesman, floundered when confronted with his party’s record in office and the belated attempt to appear tough. On BBC TV’s Daily Politics show, David Hanson dodged questions about Labour’s performance and insisted he was ‘interested in the future’.
Contrasting Labour’s record with its new position, host Andrew Neil told him: ‘Every single thing you’ve said to me today flies in the face of everything you did in power’.
He was also quizzed by Mr Neil over his party’s proposal to continue with the Government’s cap on non-EU migrants.
And he was asked why Labour’s plans to limit benefits for EU migrants for two years do not cover an array of tax credits and other in-work benefits.
Mr Hanson, a Home Office minister under Gordon Brown, was also asked about Labour’s failure to bring any prosecutions for not paying the minimum wage between 1998 and 2007. He replied: ‘I’m interested in the future. I don’t know the answer to the question from ten years ago. Whatever a Labour government did in the past we’re looking at the next five years.’
Labour would restrict child benefit, child tax credit and jobseeker’s allowance for migrants, he said.
But that would leave untouched a vast array of benefits paid through the tax system that experts say act as a huge draw for migrants.
The Tories have pledged to block access to all in-work benefits for four years. Mr Miliband’s speech was roundly dismissed by election rivals. Ukip said Labour could not be trusted on the issue, given the party’s record in office.
Deputy chairman Suzanne Evans said: ‘They opened the doors to millions of migrants in 1998, deliberately.
‘They shamelessly used race and religion as incitements to get people to vote for the Labour Party. Any pledges they make on immigration are frankly laughable. I simply don’t believe that they want to control immigration.’ A Conservative spokesman said: ‘This is a desperate attempt by Ed Miliband to distract from his refusal to say what deals he is prepared to do with Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP to prop him up in Downing Street.
‘The Conservatives have a plan to control immigration and build a system that puts the British people first. We will regain control of EU migration by reforming welfare rules, tackle criminality and abuse of free movement and cut immigra- tion from outside the EU.’ Writing in the Daily Mail last week, David Cameron attacked Labour’s stance on immigration – warning voters considering backing Ukip that they would increase the chances of Mr Miliband securing the keys to Number 10.
The Prime Minister set out ‘very clear and hard-headed’ plans to bring down numbers of incomers.
He insisted he understood people’s ‘fears and worries’ about immigration and promised to negotiate a ‘new deal with Europe’ that will address the most ‘powerful draw’ for EU workers, with a four-year ban on them claiming benefits.
Mr Cameron said: ‘Do you honestly think Ed Miliband cares about controlling immigration? No. He was there the last time, remember, when
‘Their pledges are frankly laughable’
‘Very clear and hard-headed plans’
net immigration increased fivefold.
‘If you’re someone considering voting Ukip because you want a referendum on Europe and controlled immigration, remember that a vote for Ukip makes it harder for Conservatives to win – then you will get no referendum, and a return to uncontrolled immigration.’
His intervention last week came after a major survey revealed voters wanted the Tories to be far tougher on mass immigration.
Barely one in ten Britons said they were satisfied with the Prime Minister’s border policies.
The poll by Ipsos MORI suggested it was this unhappiness that might explain why large numbers of Conservatives have been switching to Ukip. It found that of those who supported Mr Cameron in 2010, but now intend to vote for Nigel Farage’s party, 94 per cent are dissatisfied with immigration policy.
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