Comment: The left must get tough on immigration
By Simon Danczuk MP
Britain has a long and rich history of immigration going back as far as the Bronze Age. In more recent years, the post-war immigration boom has transformed Britain into one of the most diverse, multicultural countries on earth. Socially, culturally and economically immigration has been one of the most powerful forces for change our country has ever seen, doing much to shape the modern British identity.
But while many on the left celebrate this phenomenon as being an unquestionable force for good, there is no cosy consensus with the British public. Indeed, there are plenty who believe it’s gone too far and needs reining in.
I represent a constituency with a large ethnic minority population and immigration is a major doorstep issue. We have one of the highest immigration caseloads in the North West and it’s something that regularly comes up with constituents. It’s rare, however, that their views are reflected in national debate (Gillian Duffy is a notable exception), as this tends to be a polarised and divisive affair between siren voices on the right and those on the left who cling to the benefits of mass immigration as an article of faith.
It’s my hope that current debate around the immigration bill cuts through this shrill tendency to resort to dogma and creates the space for other hitherto ignored voices to be heard.
Health tourism is one area where we need to listen to frontline voices. One is a Rochdale GP who wrote to me recently to raise concerns about immigrants exploiting the NHS. I went to see him in his busy practice and listened as he told me stories of a family of immigrants landing at Manchester Airport at 6am and registering at his surgery at 10am before returning later in the afternoon to get their NHS number. He was in no doubt that health tourism was rife.
He went on to tell me how his practice manager had reported instances of people exploiting the system who had overstayed their visa. Nothing ever happens, he shrugged. He argued that there was no incentive for GPs to challenge NHS exploitation, as they get paid when someone registers at their surgery. Clinical Commissioning Groups, he explained, proactively tell GPs that they have a duty of care to treat people whether they have overstayed their visa or not. Is it any wonder, he asked, that we’re losing hundreds of millions of pounds a year to short term immigrants exploiting the system?
This is just one of many conversations I’ve had on immigration in the last few months. I’ve also discussed problems in schools, jobs and the disproportionately high number of asylum seekers that Rochdale is forced to take. There is clearly a need for a sensible discussion in the Labour party about immigration and we need to clear away the shibboleths blocking this debate and start asking awkward questions.
When we have more Malawian doctors in Manchester than Malawi is this really good for international development? Do the economic arguments for freer immigration outweigh increasing long term unemployment among native Britons? Is it right that some of the poorest towns in the UK house some of the highest number of asylum seekers? Why don’t we refuse benefit claims for anyone entering the country for the first six months of their stay?
There is a growing vacuum in British politics for a sensible immigration policy. The Tories are too busy playing politics with immigration and achieving very little to be trusted to deliver. We need sensible solutions, not vans driving round with 1970s National Front messages telling people to go home.
In the past politicians on the right and left have been guilty of preventing this debate from happening. The right tried to twist debate on immigration to play to the worst kind of prejudice. The left often shut it down by calling people racist. Now, at last, we have the opportunity to debate properly to determine an immigration policy that works for everyone.
Simon Danczuk is the Labour MP for Rochdale. He is also a member of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee.
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