Josh Simons MP: Making progress on immigration
This month, net migration reached half of the previous level. That is something I welcome. I have always been clear that the level of immigration reached under the Conservative Government was far too high. The fact that they lost control of the numbers and of the system - and willingly gave up on fixing it - was disgraceful.
Controlling our borders is a fundamental part of democracy - choosing who is a citizen and part of our democracy. And good, well-paying jobs for British workers is a Labour principle. For too long, the UK, and our area, have relied on importing low-skill workers from abroad, driving down wages, and failing to up-skill people locally.
25,000 people have been returned, who had no right to be here. That’s because, where the Conservatives had given up on making the asylum system function, we’re making it work. This is what’s clearing the backlog - the queue of people waiting to see if they will be given asylum or not.
The backlog causes the issues of migrant hotels, with taxpayer money used to house asylum seekers while they wait within this system. That’s not good for anyone, it means money has to be spent on hotels, the hotels can’t be used by the general public, and genuine asylum seekers can’t start getting set up here, working and contributing to our society. I’ve been assured by the Home Office that there will not be any asylum hotels opened in our towns, and many have already now been closed. Now that we are working through the backlog, we are reducing the numbers of people needed accommodation while they wait.
The Government are also negotiating new deals with different allies, so that we can tackle the small boats crisis together and take down the smuggling gangs. The small boats trade is an international, foreign policy crisis, and we’re tackling it like one. The head of the border security command, Martin Hewitt, is a very experienced police officer, and was in charge of security for the Queen’s funeral.
The Government have also increased the returns of foreign national offenders by over a quarter. Foreign nationals who come to Britain and commit crimes should be returned, and not stay in our prisons or our society for long periods of time.
I am also glad that the Government has released its ‘white paper’ on immigration recently, setting out our plans for the immigration in the long run. It means that people will have to wait longer to start the process to citizenship, and that making sure our communities are inclusive and strong is a priority.
That’s why I spoke in the House of Commons last month about the need for more apprenticeships in the trades that employ so many in our towns - plumbing, bricklaying, carpentry, electrics, mechanics. It’s these skills that will build the housing we desperately need, and will grow our economy. Wigan and Leigh College in our area does great work building these skills, but it needs more support.
It’s also why we have to value care giving even more too, from care workers for our elderly, to healthcare assistants in our hospitals. Relying on labour from abroad for these is not right.
Lots of people will try to promise you an overnight fix - Rwanda, or a scheme they’ve cooked up on the back of an envelope.
The truth is, fixing this is complicated and it’s hard. But I will keep pushing the Government to act as fast as possible, and to break the barriers in our way.