Getting to grips with immigration

Now before anyone starts blethering about "draconian" new immigration measures, be aware that this is the price of open borders. If an employer is happy to employ an illegal, chances are they are equally happy to exploit them too, keeping the off the books, not paying tax and without any of the basic protections we ourselves take for granted. This then creates an unlevel playing field to the point where British workers simply cannot compete. If we have a labour market then it must at least be a level playing field whereby basics much as the minimum wage is enforced.

But as far as that goes, a company breaking the law in this regard is not the only guilty party. It takes two to enter a contract and so the illegal immigrant is essentially engaged in criminal activity which does have negative externalities, not least welfare as you and I pay for our own to live on benefits because they can't compete.

If we accept and demand a basic standard of living is a facet of being a UK citizen then we must enforce the laws that uphold those principles. By doing so we can keep our borders open with the EEA and then strategically extend those arrangements with partner nations we want to develop through aid and remittances. In our case, Nigeria and Kenya might be a good place to start if we can help them develop effective civic administration.

The ultimate objective being a reduction in the necessity to come to Europe. Dealing with the push factors is equally as important as the pull factors. Eventually we can have fully open borders but that much is a process, not an event. In the mean time we have to manage according to what we can assimilate and according to what there is democratic consent for.

We should be properly enforcing the laws we have, there is merit in doing so and if we don't enforce the law properly, what's the point of having them? It is already within our powers to do this much without slamming the door shut as kippers would have it.

But then we also need to address our asylum policy that sees people drowning in the Med. That cannot happen without ending our devotion to the 51 Convention on Human Rights - the killer pull factor. As much as we have our own problems, we see that it's a global problem with events unfolding down-under.

Australia has the right idea. None of the more than 8,000 Rohingya refugees caught in a weeks-long stand-off at sea will be resettled in Australia, prime minister Tony Abbott confirmed on Thursday. The US has indicated it is willing to take some of the refugees, and the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) has urged Australia to work with its neighbours in finding a solution. But the prime minister has closed the door on suggestions some could be resettled in Australia: “Nope, nope, nope".

“Australia will do absolutely nothing that gives any encouragement to anyone to think that they can get on a boat, that they can work with people smugglers to start a new life. “I’m sorry. If you want to start a new life, you come through the front door, not through the back door.

“Don’t think that getting on a leaky boat at the behest of a people smuggler is going to do you or your family any good. “We are not going to do anything that will encourage people to get on boats. If we do the slightest thing to encourage people to get on the boats, this problem will get worse, not better.”

Australia understands the pull factor and has all but abandoned its commitment to the convention, instead using diplomacy to stop the boats, in tandem with an active foreign policy to that end. We must do likewise, but the 51 Convention is enshrined in the Treaty of Lisbon. If we want people to stop drowning in the Med, we are going to have to quit the EU. Let's tackle the causes instead of the symptoms.