IMAGINE living in a country where pretty much anyone from anywhere in the world can arrive and make it their home.
Imagine that country allowing anyone, with or without any particular skills or even speaking the native language, to get a job there, no matter how low the pay.
And then, a few years later, allowing them to claim the right to stay in that country for the rest of their lives, to receive state benefits and social housing and then, a few years down the line, to apply for citizenship of that nation, giving them the right to vote.
Well, congratulations — you don’t have to imagine that country because it already exists — and not up in the clouds but on the ground beneath your feet.
It’s called the United Kingdom.
Astonishingly, all this is the current state of affairs for immigrants making their way to our island nation.
And with immigration still one of the key issues for millions of voters, it was no surprise that Tory leader Kemi Badenoch decided to make this her first foray into policy-making.
She called on Labour to tighten the rules when the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is debated by MPs next week, so that immigrants would only be allowed to apply for British citizenship after 15 years living in the UK instead of the current six, while those on work visas with criminal records or who have claimed benefits or social housing would not be granted indefinite leave to remain.
You could be forgiven for wondering why on earth all this is not already official policy.
Why would ANY country want to allow migrants who can’t support themselves or their families — or who have committed crimes — to have the right to remain here for ever? Who in their right mind would ever agree to such madness?
British governments, that’s who.
The same governments — both Tory and Labour — that insisted for decades that they would cut immigration while at the same time putting rocket boosters under the numbers.
The same governments that told us immigration was vital to growing our economy, and that diversity would be our strength.
After two decades of economic stagnation, with cultural divisions growing by the day, we can all see just how well that’s worked out, can’t we?
Badenoch says: “Our country is not a dormitory, it’s our home” — and she’s right.
But our politicians and civil servants have, for years, allowed far too many people to call Britain their home even when they had little, if anything, to contribute to our country.
The $64,000 question is how any Tory leader can convince voters to believe anything they say, ever again, after their 14 years in power which saw Tony Blair’s immigration boom put on steroids.
How can voters trust either Labour or the Tories on LEGAL immigration when they can’t even deal with illegal migrants arriving on Channel dinghies — with those numbers heading up yet again and no sign of Starmer “smashing the gangs” any time soon.
With Reform leapfrogging the Tories in the polls, Badenoch knows she has no choice but to try to persuade voters that her party has changed,
She also knows she faces an uphill struggle, given that Reform hold two key advantages over the Tories on immigration.
Our country is not a dormitory, it’s our home
Kemi Badenoch
Firstly, Nigel Farage et al have been speaking out against mass immigration for years and aren’t Johnny-come-latelies to this issue.
And perhaps more crucially, they have never been in power so they haven’t broken any promises to voters . . . yet.
As Starmer is already learning to his cost, tough talk about immigration just isn’t going to wash any more.
The British people have had enough of words, they want action.
And while Brits have long been welcoming to new arrivals who want to contribute and pay their own way, ultimately the real winners of our immigration policy should always be the British people.
After all, British citizenship isn’t a raffle prize, where anyone can grab a ticket and hope their number comes up.
It should be something that is earned and valued — a privilege rather than an automatic right.
IS there anyone in this country who genuinely believes that Sir Keir Starmer and his voice coach did NOT break Covid rules back on Christmas Eve 2020?
Anyone, at all?
Pandemic restrictions clearly banned any unnecessary work away from home, and visiting Tier 4 areas, when actress Leonie Mellinger travelled to Tier 4-designated London to meet then-Opposition leader Sir Keir to give him voice coaching for a video statement about Brexit.
The police refuse to investigate because so many years have now passed, but our memories of that time are still very fresh – the families kept apart, the elderly who died alone, the bankrupt businesses, the children banned from school.
And during that time, Labour leader Starmer was the lockdown cheer- leader-in-chief, calling again and again for more restrictions – sooner, longer and harder.
The now Prime Minister may not have been a very good learner in those voice lessons, as his wooden speeches testify.
But Sir Keir has certainly proved himself to be a grade-A master of hypocrisy.
WHAT a sight for sore eyes it was to see Donald Trump surrounded by young girls and female athletes as he signed an executive order banning men from competing in women’s sports in the US.
His critics hysterically claimed this was a ban on trans people competing in sport. But that is nonsense.
The order just prevents men and boys who identify as trans from competing against women and girls at every level, from school sports days right up to the Olympics.
This isn’t transphobia, it’s simply recognising the biological reality that men have a clear physical advantage over women – which is why the women’s category was created in the first place.
Top female athletes have had to watch men stealing their medals on Olympic podiums, while schoolgirls have given up on sport after being forced to share changing rooms with trans- identifying boys.
Trump’s executive order is a victory for common sense.
Now Britain’s fearless female athletes also deserve a level playing field.
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