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Vince Cable criticises David Cameron's migration target | Vince Cable criticises David Cameron's migration target |
(about 2 hours later) | |
David Cameron's target of cutting net migration to below 100,000 by 2015 is "not helpful" and will almost certainly not be achieved, Vince Cable has said. | |
The business secretary's comments come as a survey suggests more than 75% of Britons want to see immigration cut. | |
And 56% of those quizzed by the British Social Attitudes survey wanted to see a major crackdown on immigration. | |
The prime minister has insisted the net migration target is still achievable and he remains committed to it. | |
Mr Cable makes his comments in a BBC Two documentary called The Truth About Immigration, in which more details of the annual British Social Attitudes survey are revealed. | Mr Cable makes his comments in a BBC Two documentary called The Truth About Immigration, in which more details of the annual British Social Attitudes survey are revealed. |
Almost half of those surveyed, 47%, thought immigration was bad for the economy, and among the 31% of respondents who said it was good for the economy, half wanted to see immigration reduced anyway. | |
'Arbitrary cap' | |
Mr Cable, who has sought to distance himself from the net migration target in the past, calling it a Conservative and not a coalition policy, said politicians on all sides must be "practical" and accept that net migration cannot be controlled. | |
"It involves British people emigrating - you can't control that. It involves free movement within the European Union - in and out. It involves British people coming back from overseas who are not immigrants but are counted in the numbers," he says. | "It involves British people emigrating - you can't control that. It involves free movement within the European Union - in and out. It involves British people coming back from overseas who are not immigrants but are counted in the numbers," he says. |
"Setting an arbitrary cap is not helpful. It almost certainly won't achieve the below 100,000 level the Conservatives are setting - so let's be practical about it." | "Setting an arbitrary cap is not helpful. It almost certainly won't achieve the below 100,000 level the Conservatives are setting - so let's be practical about it." |
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said Mr Cable had "exposed the truth about the immigration debate" - but the UK could never have full control of its borders while it remained in the EU. | |
'Bogus colleges' | |
David Cameron promised to cut net migration - the difference between the number of people coming to live in the UK and those emigrating - from more than 250,000 a year to less than 100,000 by the next election in 2015. | |
After some initial success, the latest figures show net migration is on the rise again, going up from 167.000 to 182,000 a year, largely because fewer Britons are emigrating to eurozone countries. | |
Asked last month if that meant it would be impossible to meet his target, Mr Cameron said: "'I don't accept that" | |
"If you take the whole three-year period [since the election], net immigration is down by a around third." | |
He said some measures the government had taken, such as closing "bogus" colleges and tightening up the rules on family reunion, would take time to have an impact. | |
In Nick Robinson's documentary, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says the Labour government of which he was a prominent member "got it wrong" on immigration, "and I deeply regret it". | |
Labour MP and former Home Secretary David Blunkett adds: "We didn't spell out in words of one syllable what was happening, partly because of a fear of racism." | |
Current Home Secretary Theresa May says: "I think the problem in the past has been that there's been this general assumption that immigration was always good for the economy. | Current Home Secretary Theresa May says: "I think the problem in the past has been that there's been this general assumption that immigration was always good for the economy. |
"I don't think people have looked at it sufficiently closely to be able to recognise the impact it has on members of the public." | "I don't think people have looked at it sufficiently closely to be able to recognise the impact it has on members of the public." |
'Public concern' | 'Public concern' |
Nigel Farage tells the programme: "They tried to rubbish us, they tried to say that anybody that dared to talk about this subject was necessarily a bad person and racist, that was what they tried to do and actually this has been going on ever since [Enoch] Powell's speech." | |
In the so-called "rivers of blood" speech, made in 1968, Mr Powell said Britain's immigration policy was like watching a nation "heaping up its own funeral pyre". | In the so-called "rivers of blood" speech, made in 1968, Mr Powell said Britain's immigration policy was like watching a nation "heaping up its own funeral pyre". |
He was sacked from the Conservative shadow cabinet by party leader Edward Heath, who said it was "inflammatory and liable to damage race relations". | He was sacked from the Conservative shadow cabinet by party leader Edward Heath, who said it was "inflammatory and liable to damage race relations". |
Asked whether he thought Mr Powell had been right, Mr Farage says: "He was right for the wrong reasons. He was wrong in the sense that he felt that black and white would find it difficult to mix, but unfortunately he's been proved to be right because the sheer numbers that have come into Britain have led to segregation." | Asked whether he thought Mr Powell had been right, Mr Farage says: "He was right for the wrong reasons. He was wrong in the sense that he felt that black and white would find it difficult to mix, but unfortunately he's been proved to be right because the sheer numbers that have come into Britain have led to segregation." |
BBC political editor Nick Robinson says all political parties now "promise to control" immigration because they are "acutely aware of the high level of public concern" about it. | BBC political editor Nick Robinson says all political parties now "promise to control" immigration because they are "acutely aware of the high level of public concern" about it. |
In the programme, he looks back to a civil service paper published in 2001 which examined the economic and the social impact of immigration. | |
The paper concluded that there was "little evidence that native workers are harmed by migration". | The paper concluded that there was "little evidence that native workers are harmed by migration". |
Its author, former Cabinet Office economist Jonathan Portes, said: "I think politicians do have to say to individuals who are negatively affected, and let's face it there will be some: 'Yes, we're doing this for the good of our country, and yes you may lose out, but ultimately we still have to do this.' | Its author, former Cabinet Office economist Jonathan Portes, said: "I think politicians do have to say to individuals who are negatively affected, and let's face it there will be some: 'Yes, we're doing this for the good of our country, and yes you may lose out, but ultimately we still have to do this.' |
"Just as we said to the coal miners 30 years ago: 'Sorry we can get our coal a lot cheaper abroad. We can't afford to keep on propping you up.'" | "Just as we said to the coal miners 30 years ago: 'Sorry we can get our coal a lot cheaper abroad. We can't afford to keep on propping you up.'" |
The Truth About Immigration is to be broadcast on BBC Two at 21:30 GMT on Tuesday 7 January. | The Truth About Immigration is to be broadcast on BBC Two at 21:30 GMT on Tuesday 7 January. |