Jon Bright (London, OK): You might recall (but I'd forgive you if you didn't) Liam Byrne's speech given at Demos a few weeks back: Britain, he claimed, was "not a nation of Alf Garnetts" - a statement which you might hope was uncontroversial.
However, for a such a tolerant and welcoming bunch, we still have a rather skittish and uncontrollable attitude towards people coming over here - if they're not stealing our jobs then they are freeloading off the benefit system or giving birth uncontrollably. And, if we do decide to send them home, they carry off yet more of our hard earned cash.
Latest in a long series of 'why exactly did I vote Labour?' moments has today been provided by Liam Byrne, who is gleefully proposing to force families to put up a £1,000 tourist bond, or something, to allow their relatives to come and visit them, and to cut the time a tourist visa is issued for from six to three months.
Why is this nonsense? Two reasons.
Firstly, as the Conservatives point out, a shorter tourist visa doesn't make it less likely that someone will outstay their period of welcome (surely the other way round). It might cut down the number of hours of illegal under the table bar work they do. And of course it will cut down the amount of time they are allowed to spend sightseeing. But who, apart from an Alf, benefits from that?
Secondly, the £1,000 bond will obviously mean that poorer immigrant families are now no longer able to have their relatives come and visit them. Their options will be threefold: forget all about their relatives, encourage them to visit illegally, or go back to where they came from. Considering we don't think like Mr. A Garnett, which option are we hoping they will be driven into?
Of course, Byrne is trying to be tactical for the 'populist' press - which these days seems to be an excuse for almost anything. £36 million 'given' to failed asylum seekers to set up businesses in their own countries has made for predictably negative headlines - little surprise that the government is trying to hit back. But does it really have to be this way? If we aren't a nation of Garnetts, then surely we should be bringing in immigration policies that would make him froth with rage. At the moment, I think he would be rather pleased.
