Bruce Anderson

The silent majority is on Mr Howard’s side, but will that help him?

The silent majority is on Mr Howard’s side, but will that help him?

issue 29 January 2005

Michael Howard is a Powellite, at least in one respect. Talking about immigration, Enoch Powell said that numbers were of the essence. Mr Howard would agree, although his numerical restrictions would be far less severe.

The Tory leader is really more of a Blairite. ‘Every country must have firm control over immigration and Britain is no exception.’ That is from Labour’s 1997 manifesto; it summarises Mr Howard’s views. ‘We and only we decide border policy and … immigration, asylum and visas … [these policies will be] made in Britain, not in Brussels.’ That was Tony Blair in late 1993, and Michael Howard could not have put it better. His disagreements arise from the PM’s failure to turn deeds into words.

It is easy to make the moral case for restricting immigration. Almost any level of immigration causes social change; on a large scale it can alter the character of urban areas, and of an entire society.

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