THERESA May, at the Tory Party conference yesterday, knocked any notion that there could be a caring Tory Britain on the head as she declared that migration has not advanced the British economy at all, and that the best thing for migrants is to send them back!
She revealed a very ‘little Britain’ – backward, insular and blindfolded – quite unable to recognise the vast contribution that millions of migrant workers are making and have made to the UK. She was deliberately blind to the role that the UK and the US have played in creating millions of refugees with their Iraq, Libyan and Syrian wars which killed millions and made millions more into refugees.
She made a call for more bombing, saying: ‘We must take action against ISIL not just in Iraq but in Syria too.’ She also pledged more killings of UK citizens, saying: ‘I say these people have taken the conscious decision to make themselves our enemies. They plan to attack our country and kill our citizens. And they need to know – even if they are British nationals – that if they plan to do harm to this country, if they want to take the lives of British citizens, we will make sure that they have no place to hide.’
She explained that the best way to deal with refugees is to leave them where they are. But the best way of helping the most people is not by bringing relatively small numbers of refugees to this country, but by working with the vast numbers who remain in the region.’
Attacking refugees and migrants she declared: ‘The evidence – from the OECD, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee and many academics – shows that while there are benefits of selective and controlled immigration, at best the net economic and fiscal effect of high immigration is close to zero.’
She then lashed out at students. ‘We welcome students coming to study. But the fact is, too many of them are not returning home as soon as their visa runs out . . . So I don’t care what the university lobbyists say: the rules must be enforced. Students, yes; over-stayers, no. And the universities must make this happen.’
On EU migrants she said: ‘The numbers coming from Europe are unsustainable and the rules have to change . . . That is why the PM is right to target the amount we pay in benefits for those coming to the UK to work, and put these arrangements on a sensible basis.’
She then had to admit that before the UK’s war to kill Gadaffi and wreck Libya: ‘For years, despite its many other flaws and its criminal leadership, Libya was known as Europe’s “forward border”. British immigration officials worked there with their European and Libyan counterparts to stop illegal immigration from Africa at its source. Now the criminal gangs that smuggle people into Europe have been able to work unimpeded.’
This is thanks to the UK, US and France who destroyed Libya to get rid of Gadaffi, and created the millions of refugees in the process! She said: ‘As our manifesto said: “We must work to control immigration and put Britain first”.’ With cynical hypocrisy she declared: ‘Without controlled immigration there will be less public support for taking in refugees . . . we do have a moral duty to help people in need. We should play our part.’ – Pass the sickbag!
She continued on migration: ‘So we don’t need a common European asylum policy. But we do need a new British approach and we do need a new international approach with nation states working together . . . So we’ll introduce strengthened “safe return reviews” – so when a refugee’s temporary stay of protection in the UK comes to an end, or if there is a clear improvement in the conditions of their own country, we will review their need for protection. If their reason for asylum no longer stands and it is now safe for them to return, we will seek to return them to their home country rather than offer settlement here in Britain.’ The policy is to send them back.
She added: ‘If you’ve spurned the chance to seek protection elsewhere – but we cannot return you to that safe country and you still need refuge – you’ll get the minimum stay of protection and you won’t have an automatic right to settle here . . .’
The only way to answer this reactionary policy is to organise a general strike to bring down the Tories and to bring in a workers government and socialism.
