The Scottish National Party has demanded powers to control Scotland’s immigration policy in their general election manifesto – a move which would allow Free Movement and mass migration to the whole United Kingdom to persist via a Scottish “back door”.
“The current UK one-size-fits-all approach to immigration is failing Scotland,” the manifesto claims.
“The SNP will continue to seek devolution of immigration powers so that Scotland can have an immigration policy that works for our economy and society,” it pledges, echoing English MPs led by Labour’s Chuka Umunna who want left-wing strongholds to be able to set their own immigration policies.
The party also says its MPs “will continue to press the UK government to limit immigration detention to 28 days”, making it easier for bogus asylum seekers and ex-convicts from abroad to conceal themselves from the authorities before their deportation can be arranged.
Angus Robertson, the London-born depute leader of the party, who heads its contingent of Westminster MPs, insisted: “We want the opportunity for people to come and to go, and what we certainly don’t want is a restrictive immigration policy imposed on us by Westminster which is going to damage our economy and our public services.”
In a Radio 4 appearance reported by the Press and Journal, the former BBC journalist claimed immigration remains “profoundly important” to the Scottish economy. However, the data suggests immigration to the UK did, in fact, have a net negative impact of around £95 billion between 1995 and 2011, when the SNP first won a majority in the Scottish Parliament.
Launching the manifesto in Perth on May 30th, party leader Nicola Sturgeon also emphasised the supposed importance to Scotland of the EU Single Market, which entails allowing unlimited and effectively unvetted immigration for EU passport and ID card holders.
She claimed that leaving the Single Market would put 80,000 jobs in Scotland at risk, and that it was imperative the country be given another referendum on leaving the United Kingdom to decide whether or not it would follow the other Home Nations down “the Brexit path”.
Enthusiasm for the European Union and mass immigration is a curious feature of Britain’s supposedly nationalist regional parties.
For example, Welsh separatist leader Leanne Wood has long campaigned for her country to be transformed into a “nation of sanctuary” for migrants – backed by the local Labour Party administration.