Theresa May has announced that she wants an end to free movement of people into Britain once Britain leaves the EU.
However, the question still remains as to how she plans to do it.
Thanks to Brexit, we now have the first opportunity in a generation to replace our current mess – to which the British people never consented – with sensible border controls at long last, cutting net immigration from 330,000 a year to something more practical....
After Brexit, ask not what this country can do for immigrants, but what immigrants can do for this country
Julia Hartley-Brewer journalist, broadcaster and talkRADIO presenter
2 September 2016
The Telegraph
It is not a matter of luck that Britain is the country it is Credit: Reuters
When Theresa May announced at the recent Cabinet awayday at Chequers that restricting EU immigration will be at the heart of the Brexit negotiations, you could almost hear the sound of 17.4 million people collectively sighing with relief.
They, like me, voted to Leave the EU on June 23 and, like me, they have been left on tenterhooks for weeks waiting to find out precisely what our new Prime Minister actually means when she says things like “Brexit means Brexit”.
So, now we know that Mrs May wants to control the numbers of European immigrants, the question still remains as to how she plans to do it.
We now have the first opportunity in a generation to replace our current mess – to which the British people never consented – with sensible border controls at long last, cutting net immigration from 330,000 a year to something more practical.
While the minutiae have yet to be worked out, any new immigration should undoubtedly be based on one simple principle: it should unashamedly be for the benefit of the British people, and not for the benefit of those who want to come here.
Cue the anguished cries of horror from the pro-immigration brigade who fervently believe that it is Britain’s job to offer a haven to the poor and huddled masses from every country under the sun. Sorry, but it isn’t.
We have no duty of care to improve the lot of poor Romanians or Poles or Pakistanis or anyone else who is not a British citizen.
While I have nothing but admiration and respect for anyone who wants to travel across a continent to make a new life for themselves and improve their lot, the reality is that British taxpayers don’t owe the rest of the world a living.
We can offer trade deals or international aid, by all means, and we should never desert asylum seekers in their time of need, but we don’t have a moral responsibility to open our doors to the five billion-odd people on this planet who live in poorer countries than ours.
We have every right to close our doors to economic migrants who contribute less than they take out Credit: LNP
Instead, to paraphrase the former US President John F Kennedy, we should instruct would-be immigrants: “Ask not what this country can do for you, ask what you can do for this country.”
If you have something to offer Britain, whether it be much-needed qualifications or skills, entrepreneurship, creating jobs, or big wads of taxable cash, then by all means do come in and make yourself at home, I’ll put the kettle on.
If, however, you have no qualifications, no professional skills other than a driving licence, and can barely speak English, or you have a criminal record, then thanks but no thanks.
If that sounds harsh, then tough. While we are each lucky to be born here in a wealthy country where we enjoy the rule of law and freedom, it is not a matter of luck that Britain is the country it is.
Great Britain didn’t just happen; the British people created this country through decades and centuries of hard work, fighting for democracy, the welfare state and all the other benefits we currently enjoy.
That is why we have every right to close our doors to economic migrants who will contribute less than they will take out – whether it be in terms of working tax credits, housing and child benefits, or in publicly funded schools, housing, healthcare and public transport.
Britain is a very desirable place to live and, thanks to English being the world’s international language, we are ideally placed to pick the brightest and the best to come to live and work here. So why aren’t we more choosy?
We want migrants to the UK who are wealth creators, like Oxford Space Structures entrepreneurs Fujia Chen and Julian Jantke, not the low-skilled Credit: Oxford Space Structures
The only sensible immigration policy is one using skills-based work permits. Yes, that will involve more paperwork than an open-door policy, but most countries manage it. And indeed, we already operate such a system for non-EU migrants, so it is hardly beyond the wit of man to devise one that operates across the board.
Currently, an EU citizen needs to fill out more paperwork to get a Sainsbury’s Nectar card than they do to come to Britain, so a little more red tape won’t do anyone any harm.
But there is one other crucial requirement that should also be at the heart of any new immigration policy, and that is the ability of new arrivals to integrate and assimilate into British society.
Admittedly, this is a rather more difficult and subjective criterion than a university diploma, but it is just as vital – and especially after years in which mass immigration has enabled many new arrivals to live and work in entirely separate ethnic, religious or national communities in many of our cities.
We want migrants to the UK who will assimilate into British society Credit: Rex Features
If you don’t want to learn English and you don’t embrace fundamental British values like democracy, women’s equality and the freedom to choose who you marry, then Britain is probably not the country for you.
Controlled immigration doesn’t require us to close our doors to the rest of the world – far from it. But it does mean us getting to decide who we want to live here and, for the first time in decades, putting the needs of the British people first.
After Brexit, ask not what this country can do for immigrants, but what immigrants can do for this country
However, the question still remains as to how she plans to do it.
Thanks to Brexit, we now have the first opportunity in a generation to replace our current mess – to which the British people never consented – with sensible border controls at long last, cutting net immigration from 330,000 a year to something more practical....
After Brexit, ask not what this country can do for immigrants, but what immigrants can do for this country
Julia Hartley-Brewer journalist, broadcaster and talkRADIO presenter
2 September 2016
The Telegraph
It is not a matter of luck that Britain is the country it is Credit: Reuters
When Theresa May announced at the recent Cabinet awayday at Chequers that restricting EU immigration will be at the heart of the Brexit negotiations, you could almost hear the sound of 17.4 million people collectively sighing with relief.
They, like me, voted to Leave the EU on June 23 and, like me, they have been left on tenterhooks for weeks waiting to find out precisely what our new Prime Minister actually means when she says things like “Brexit means Brexit”.
So, now we know that Mrs May wants to control the numbers of European immigrants, the question still remains as to how she plans to do it.
We now have the first opportunity in a generation to replace our current mess – to which the British people never consented – with sensible border controls at long last, cutting net immigration from 330,000 a year to something more practical.
While the minutiae have yet to be worked out, any new immigration should undoubtedly be based on one simple principle: it should unashamedly be for the benefit of the British people, and not for the benefit of those who want to come here.
Cue the anguished cries of horror from the pro-immigration brigade who fervently believe that it is Britain’s job to offer a haven to the poor and huddled masses from every country under the sun. Sorry, but it isn’t.
We have no duty of care to improve the lot of poor Romanians or Poles or Pakistanis or anyone else who is not a British citizen.
While I have nothing but admiration and respect for anyone who wants to travel across a continent to make a new life for themselves and improve their lot, the reality is that British taxpayers don’t owe the rest of the world a living.
We can offer trade deals or international aid, by all means, and we should never desert asylum seekers in their time of need, but we don’t have a moral responsibility to open our doors to the five billion-odd people on this planet who live in poorer countries than ours.
We have every right to close our doors to economic migrants who contribute less than they take out Credit: LNP
Instead, to paraphrase the former US President John F Kennedy, we should instruct would-be immigrants: “Ask not what this country can do for you, ask what you can do for this country.”
If you have something to offer Britain, whether it be much-needed qualifications or skills, entrepreneurship, creating jobs, or big wads of taxable cash, then by all means do come in and make yourself at home, I’ll put the kettle on.
If, however, you have no qualifications, no professional skills other than a driving licence, and can barely speak English, or you have a criminal record, then thanks but no thanks.
If that sounds harsh, then tough. While we are each lucky to be born here in a wealthy country where we enjoy the rule of law and freedom, it is not a matter of luck that Britain is the country it is.
Great Britain didn’t just happen; the British people created this country through decades and centuries of hard work, fighting for democracy, the welfare state and all the other benefits we currently enjoy.
That is why we have every right to close our doors to economic migrants who will contribute less than they will take out – whether it be in terms of working tax credits, housing and child benefits, or in publicly funded schools, housing, healthcare and public transport.
Britain is a very desirable place to live and, thanks to English being the world’s international language, we are ideally placed to pick the brightest and the best to come to live and work here. So why aren’t we more choosy?
We want migrants to the UK who are wealth creators, like Oxford Space Structures entrepreneurs Fujia Chen and Julian Jantke, not the low-skilled Credit: Oxford Space Structures
The only sensible immigration policy is one using skills-based work permits. Yes, that will involve more paperwork than an open-door policy, but most countries manage it. And indeed, we already operate such a system for non-EU migrants, so it is hardly beyond the wit of man to devise one that operates across the board.
Currently, an EU citizen needs to fill out more paperwork to get a Sainsbury’s Nectar card than they do to come to Britain, so a little more red tape won’t do anyone any harm.
But there is one other crucial requirement that should also be at the heart of any new immigration policy, and that is the ability of new arrivals to integrate and assimilate into British society.
Admittedly, this is a rather more difficult and subjective criterion than a university diploma, but it is just as vital – and especially after years in which mass immigration has enabled many new arrivals to live and work in entirely separate ethnic, religious or national communities in many of our cities.
We want migrants to the UK who will assimilate into British society Credit: Rex Features
If you don’t want to learn English and you don’t embrace fundamental British values like democracy, women’s equality and the freedom to choose who you marry, then Britain is probably not the country for you.
Controlled immigration doesn’t require us to close our doors to the rest of the world – far from it. But it does mean us getting to decide who we want to live here and, for the first time in decades, putting the needs of the British people first.
After Brexit, ask not what this country can do for immigrants, but what immigrants can do for this country
