Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
MP says rules on immigration still need tightening
aclaridge@thekmgroup.co.uk SPIRALLING immigration numbers will put a huge strain on the Canterbury district if they are not reined in, says MP Julian Brazier.
The Canterbury and Whitstable Conservative says the more than two million people who have poured into the UK in the last decade have placed enormous pressure on services such as housing, transport, water, schools and hospitals.
He says many of the issues he deals with locally are caused by population growth, and says the problems will only get worse if tighter controls are not enforced.
He was speaking to the Gazette after raising the matter during Prime Minister’s Questions when he accused the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown of allowing immigration to spiral out of control.
Soaring
The coalition government says it is now beginning to reduce the numbers coming into the UK.
But it will still have to grapple with migrants coming from Romania and Bulgaria next year when limits on their citizens living and working in the UK will expire.
Mr Brazier said: “The soaring population growth in London, where more than half of all births last year were to mothers from abroad, has resulted in unprecedented housing shortages there, leading to a large inflow of people into other parts of south east England, including Canterbury.
“A growing proportion of the people who come to see me in my surgery have come from London.
“Most of the local issues in my postbag come back to population growth: homelessness, development of new homes, water shortages, flooding caused by building on flood plains, overloaded roads and overcrowded commuter services.
“The two million-plus surge in net immigration under the last Labour government has resulted in severe housing shortages, critical overstretch in our infrastructure and a situation in which one household in 20 does not speak English.
“Many immigrants have made a huge contribution, but we live in a small country and we simply
What do you think? Email kentishgazette@thekmgroup.co.uk or write to Gazette House, 5-8 Boorman Way, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 3SE. cannot let population expansion continue at the current rate.
“In the South East, in particular, the strain on housing stocks, school places, hospitals and water resources is becoming critical.
“I am very glad the government’s tighter controls on immigration are beginning to bear fruit. This is in the interests of us all.
“We need to get back to the old days when immigration and emigration were in balance.
“And in terms of Romania and Bulgaria, it may be that we can take some further powers to keep immigration in check.”
Mr Brazier is producing a paper on immigration to help deal with what he describes as an “unprecedented surge” in the population.