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April 20, 2005
Immigration
Slow news day.
Or, to be more accurate, the election news was largely taken over by the news of a new pope. Of course that could be described as 'election 05 too, I guess.
Our newsagents has the tabloids displayed side by side, so we had GOD'S ROTWEILER, THE ENFORCER and POPE IDOL. Needless to say the last was from the Irish Sun. Not quite up there with UP YOURS DELORS! (November 1st 1990) or GOTCHA!
Thank God for the fourth estate, I'm sure you agree.
Immigration
I was astonished this was on the TBC list, frankly, after William Hague's disaster with it last time out, but it seems they just can't forget Smethwick and the river Tiber foaming with much blood. The full text of that speech from 1968 is here, and a picture of Powell for good luck.
The problem is that this is always presented as a totally racist attack, and even the national front proudly has the full text of the speech on their website (Not the link I gave you). Powell was sacked and for the most part any anti-immigration rhetoric is now automatically associated with racism. What is interesting is the result of immigration. Think of two of the most economically successful regions of the world in the last century. California and Hong Kong. In both cases they are populated almost entirely by people who have got off their butts and done something for themselves and their children. You might think Hong Kong is all chinese with a few whites, and you'd be right, but that ignores the fact that there are almost no third generation Hong Kongers. The influx during the cultural revolution saw to that. The bottom line is that nobody struggles half way round the world for fun; they do it to better themselves. (I know this having been an immigrant myself these last 24 years) These people are people any country would be sensible to accept.
So what's the difference in UK today? In a word 'welfare'. In California and Hong Kong people struggled there knowing they'd have a chance to work and do well for themselves. In some cases, yes, a minority, people struggle to UK knowing they'll have a chance to live off welfare for the rest of their natural. If people saw that HMG understood who was coming in, and ensured the maximum help in finding work for them, and the minimum help, consistent with humanity, in terms of cash handouts, there would be few objections. But when neither of these conditions are fulfilled it provides fertile ground for the National Front and their ilk to prosper in.
So the TBCs have a point, and are actually putting it across a little less stridently than before, but it still won't do them any good.
Why?
It's the economy, stupid. (From around 1992 when Clinton beat Bush snr.)
15 Minutes of fame
David Jackson. Lib-dems
Political experience: -
• Member, Rutherglen Local Party Committee 2000-3
• General Election Candidate - Glasgow Rutherglen 2001
• Convener, Glasgow Rutherglen LP 2003-
• Glasgow City Council Candidate 2003
• Scottish Election Candidate - Glasgow Baillieston 2003
• Scottish Election List Candidate - City of Glasgow 2003
So, a trier then. He'll need to be. His predecessor in Glasgow Baillieston, one Charles Dundas, polled 6.7% of the vote last time, though, on the bright side, up 2.8% from before, and only 0.1% behind the TBCs. Now, there have been boundary changes so he may just do better.
Good luck David!
Political Betting Projected Election Outcome LAB majority 74
Posted by Flo Ting Voe Tah at April 20, 2005 02:45 PM