Saturday, April 21, 2018

The Tories are blaming the Home Office. But it’s they that carry the blame:

The Tories are blaming the Home Office. But it’s they that carry the blame:






Harry Truman famously had a sign on his presidential desk saying “The Buck Stops here” - as in a democracy it usually does. Not on the desks of the Sir Humphreys but of their political masters. Did the Civil Service warn Home Secretary May or Prime Minister Cameron that their determination to undercut the UKIP threat with knee-jerk, ignorant and racist legislation might not be a good idea? Maybe they didn’t, and as such they abrogated their mandarin duties. Poor, but not the real issue.

The real issue of course is the legislation which as ever was initiated by government. Dave and Co. were worried by the rise of UKIP. Many in the Tory ranks argued for a formal alliance with the Kippers (remember that Toby Young ?). Others argued that the only way to counter Farage was to steal his clothes. EU Referendum ? Of course. Tighten Immigration! Naturellment.

The immigration policy was win-win. The focus groups said is was Numero Uno as a concern of the Great British Public. And ILLEGAL immigration (Aaaargh) - what’s not to hate ?

So the 2014 Act was to curb ILLEGAL immigration. Nobody could argue with that surely. And Ed Miliband’s Labour didn’t. Their focus groups told them the same thing as the Conservatives’. The Great British Public don’t like immigrants much and illegal immigrants are pariahs. Chuck ‘em out. Right!

So what’s an illegal immigrant? Easy innit? Some dude who’s living here without papers which show he has the right to do so. Round ‘em up. Ship ‘em out. Easy one. Except that the educated middle class metropolitan elite didn’t know some people didn’t have passports. (My God how do they get into Tuscany in the summer hols?).

If you have a passport your nationality with its right of residence in the U.K. is documented.   But if you’ve never needed to get one - even though you’ve been here 40 years or more since you came as a child? Well you ain’t got no papers sunshine. And we know what no papers means. You’re an illegal Sambo - away with you.

And here’s the rub. Government failed to understand and the Home Office failed to advise them that these paperless Brits were not illegal immigrants by any logical use of the term. They were Brits with a paperwork problem. Not quite the same!

That’s the be all and end all of it. Cockup not conspiracy.  Bad policy and legislation  within which a major anomaly existed. Failed challenge (except by a few MPs like Jeremy Corbyn, Caroline Lucas and David Lammy). And a Home Office which either didn’t know (Aargh) or did Know and kept quiet.

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