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Proceeding contribution from Lord Lilley (Conservative) in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 21 October 2008. It occurred during Opposition day on Immigration Controls.


Immigration Controls

That is certainly true, and I found that when I represented much of the seat now represented with such distinction by my hon. Friend in St. Albans. I have represented large numbers of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and other ethnic groups, as I now do Sikh and other groups in my constituency. Many of them have grave reservations about the impact of continued mass immigration on the stability of their communities. Sometimes there is something rather patronising and fundamentally racist—in an anti-British sense—about some of the arguments. As the hon. Member for Ealing, North almost suggested, we are held to be in need of a constant influx of people because we need refreshment and strengthening, without which we poor Brits could not survive. Of course we want to welcome a flow of people from abroad, but the idea that everybody who comes to this country is so superior to those already here is a bit of an absurdity.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
481 c202 
Session
2007-08
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Borders Employment Housing Immigration controls Immigration Entry clearances Economic situation Monitoring Population Statistics Visas EU immigration Work permits
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk