LUKE MARSDEN: Wigan needs migration but there need to be stricter controls

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It was accepted in biblical times but heaven forbid you say that phrase now when referring to how our country is bursting at the seams.

The Home Secretary and the Prime Minister have laid down the gauntlet with their new Illegal Immigration Bill and I, for one, welcome it.

There is no room at the inn with the current trajectory of 80,000 illegal immigrants this year and I’d imagine we’d hit the 100,000 mark next. Where does this end?

This is not to say as a nation we don’t want legal migration.

Far from it: due to Brexit and global factors we have a serious shortage of labour in many sectors, and we need those willing to work and pay into our system to come here and be greeted with open arms.

Just this week (and probably as I’m writing this) we’ve had over 200 migrants arrive on small boats.

Where will they be housed? Will they ever be able to actually do a day’s work?

Wigan wants and needs legal migration. We are a working-class town with many jobs in the manufacturing sector and beyond that needs skilled and unskilled roles filling.

But what I do not, and I’m sure many Wiganers would agree, is our town to once again become a dumping ground for Westminster problems.

We’ve got enough of our own. Homelessness, crime and poverty in Wigan continue to rise. People cannot afford to switch their heating on or have three meals a day.

I don’t want someone sitting in a £150-a-night hotel for months upon months on end on my taxpayer dime.

I sincerely hope the government can push through the Illegal Immigration Bill because on paper it’s the most radical course of action they have proposed yet and it’s needed.

Otherwise we need a miracle!