Labour’s pledges on immigration would be “disastrous” for the United Kingdom and the Liberal Democrats’ plans “absurd”, the chairman of Migration Watch has told Breitbart London in the first of a series looking at UK parties’ manifestos in the run-up to Thursday’s election.
Alp Mehmet, a first-generation migrant and the chairman of the mass-migration sceptic think tank Migration Watch UK, told Breitbart London that it is “absolutely essential that whichever party forms the next government, gets it right on immigration”.
“Immigration has been continuing at about a quarter of a million average over the last five to ten years. What that means is that we are looking at a population increase of around a million every three or four years, and something like 80 per cent of that is because of immigration.”
He said that while the Tory Party has paid “lip service” to the problems of immigration, such as strains on the NHS, pressures on schooling, and overcrowding, the Labour Party has ignored the problems associated with immigration “completely”.
The Labour Party’s Stance on Immigration:
Above: watch Alp Mehmet on the Labour party manifesto
“If Brexit were to happen under Labour, the likelihood is that Free Movement would continue,” Mehmet said.
However, he added that under a Labour government, the far-left party’s proposals would extend the free-movement arrangements to the rest of the world, saying such plans “would be disastrous, absolutely disastrous”.
The Labour Party voted in September at its annual conference to retain Free Movement immigration from the European Union, as well as vowing to extend the open borders policy globally.
Led by 70-year-old socialist Jeremy Corbyn, the party also announced that it would offer free healthcare, benefits, and even voting rights to an uncontrolled number of immigrants.
The far-left Labour leader has also said: “I don’t think free movement totally could ever come to an end because of the relationship between families, between Britain and Europe, the needs of all of our services.”
The Liberal Democrats’ Stance on Immigration:
Above: watch Alp Mehmet on the Liberal Democrat manifesto
“The Liberal Democrats have been saying things, after publishing their manifesto, which frankly make matters even worse than their manifesto was suggesting,” Mehmet said.
“Only on Friday, they were saying that they would close down the immigration arm of the Home Office. ‘Toxic’ they described it as being. This, frankly, is absurd,” he added.
The Liberal Democrats pledged in their manifesto published in November that they “will stop Brexit”, “revoke Article 50”, force the United Kingdom to “stay in the European Union”.
“In other circumstances, we will continue to fight for a people’s vote [second referendum] with the option to stay in the EU, and in that vote, we would passionately campaign to keep the UK in the EU,” the manifesto said.
The liberal-progressive Remain party, currently polling in third place, said that they would combat the “hostile environment” towards illegal immigration, which they claim was created by the Conservative Party.
Their manifesto also pledged to “promote diversity”, “save EU freedom of movement”, and to radically transform the nation’s refugee procedures, including removing asylum policymaking from the Home Office to the Department for International Development.
Before Britons head to the polls to cast their ballots in the upcoming general election, Breitbart London, in a series of interviews with Migration Watch UK Chairman Alp Mehmet, will break down the immigration policies of the four major parties.
On Tuesday, Breitbart London will review the immigration policies of the Conservative Party and on Wednesday the immigration plans of the Brexit Party.
Follow Kurt on Twitter @KurtZindulka
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