Posted on 02/07/2005 7:15:41 PM PST by brydic1
Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair plans to allow only people who speak English and have skills that are in demand to settle in Britain, after polls showed the public considers immigration rules to be too weak.
``The controls you need are to weed out the abuses,'' Blair said in a Sky News television interview today in London after the plan was presented to Parliament. ``But in weeding out those abuses, you shouldn't do damage to the economy.''
The five-year asylum and immigration plan, outlined by Home Secretary Charles Clarke in the House of Commons, sets out a four- tier system of points for those applying to work in Britain from outside the European Union. People who speak English and have skills in demand will be able to settle in the U.K., while unskilled workers and students won't be allowed to stay permanently.
A YouGov Ltd. poll in yesterday's Mail on Sunday found 78 percent of respondents agreed that immigration rules are ``not tough enough.'' A fifth wanted to stop immigration altogether, and 70 percent disagreed that the U.K. needs foreign workers. No margin of error was given for the poll of 1,989 people between Feb. 3 and Feb. 5.
``The public needs to have confidence that our immigration system is properly run and enforced, with strict controls that work,'' Clarke said. ``People need to understand who is allowed into the country and why.''
Track Migrants
The plan aims to remove failed asylum applicants faster and to track migrants by fingerprinting all visa applicants.
``I believe that it's out of a lack of clarity about the situation that various forms of bigotry can develop,'' Clarke told journalists before making his statement. His proposals would replace the current immigration rules with a ``clear and transparent'' system.
Ironic headline alert.
At least a willingness to learn the language - and not ghettoise, should be a pre-requiste for new citizenships in the UK.
India is going to benefit huge from this as the young skilled workers will get preference to work in England.
Network engineers in London are in serious demand now.
Uhhh- English is mis-spelled in the headline!
I'd move if only they 1. exempted me from all income taxes and VATs and 2. Would provide me with the High Caste Desi Princess of my choice (nothing sexier than an Indian girl with an English accent).
George Bush must to pay atention to Tony Blair on this and learn from him. English helps bind this nation together.
It sounds like the UK is going to have to deport a lot of people, many of whom were born in the UK, yuk yuk.
I've heard, and can believe, that there are 2nd and 3rd generation Chinese who live in San Francisco (in the Chinatown area) who speak not one word of English.
I would settle for English speaking people. That should be a requirement for any immigration or guest worker program.
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