Tory steps down over migrant row
Nigel Hastilow has stepped down as the Conservative party’s candidate for his constituency after claiming Enoch Powell “was right” on immigration.
Mr Hastilow, who had sought to become the MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, made the announcement after meeting with party chairman Caroline Spelman today.
He had written in a local paper that he agreed with the views of Mr Powell, who is notorious for his “rivers of blood” speech in which he warned that immigration would change the country permanently.
In a column for the Express and Star newspaper in Wolverhampton, Hastilow wrote: “When you ask most people in the Black Country what the single biggest problem facing the country is, most say immigration.
“Many insist: ‘Enoch Powell was right’.”
The Tory member went on to say that the country had “changed dramatically” and that foreigners were being treated better than British residents.
A spokesman for the Conservative party said all members had to be careful about their comments on sensitive issues such as immigration. He said Mr Hastilow would be spoken to about his future in “clear terms” during the meeting.
Afterwards, a statement from Mr Hastilow said: “I am very sorry that any remarks of mine have undermined the progress David Cameron has made on the issue of immigration, as on so many other issues.”
Enoch Powell was dismissed from the Tory party’s frontbench for his “rivers of blood” speech in 1968. The Labour party described Mr Hastilow’s comments as “unacceptable”.
The Conservative party spokesperson added: “Britain benefits from immigration, but immigration should be controlled. Candidates of all parties should take great care when discussing what can be a sensitive and even inflammatory issue.
“Politicians and those seeking to be politicians have a responsibility in this area that they must observe.”
Earlier this week, Conservative party leader David Cameron won praise for a speech on immigration by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The body’s head, Trevor Phillips, praised Mr Cameron for looking at the issue as one of political and economic management rather than one of race.
