This in from Isle of Wight MP, Andrew Turner’s office, in their own words. Ed
Andrew Turner, the Island’s MP, welcomed the Prime Minister’s promise to cut net migration to early 1990’s levels.
The Prime Minister vowed in a speech in Southampton last week that the Government would reduce the number of immigrants from non-European Union countries to “tens of thousands” per year, as opposed to the hundreds of thousands that have been arriving each year for the last decade.
This morning Nick Clegg is reported as challenging the Prime Minister, saying “I don’t think it’s a numbers game. It is not government policy to pursue a specific numerical target.”
It IS a numbers game
Mr Turner said, “I stand by the Prime Minister’s comments, his strongest yet on the issue of immigration. An increase in population through immigration of more than 2 million people in the last decade is ludicrous and clearly unsustainable. I fully support the Government’s aim to reduce net migration to manageable levels. Nick Clegg is simply wrong to say it is not Government policy to have a specific target – it was in the coalition document and it was included in the Queen’s speech last year.
“In my view immigration is to some extent ‘a numbers game’. We have a sensible immigration policy where we do not completely close our borders, but can still welcome the best and brightest from across the world. If mainstream politicians don’t talk about immigration, extremist groups such as the British National Party will hijack the issue.”
Whilst this is a step in the right direction, Mr Turner believes that the number of immigrants who come to the United Kingdom from the European Union also needs to be reviewed.
He said, “Unfortunately, while we continue to be shackled by Brussels, we are not able to control the number of immigrants who come from EU countries. I will be working with my colleagues in Westminster to review this.”
