My Lords, I will focus on immigration, as noble Lords would expect. I hope my voice will return—it has just disappeared.
It is increasingly clear that the sheer scale of immigration has now reached the point at which it is changing the whole nature of our country and, indeed, threatening serious so…
My Lords, it is good to be following the noble Lord, Lord Green of Deddington, because I want to pick up on some of his words. First, I thank my noble friend Lord Hodgson for this important, timely debate and the report, which I have read. I found it a really good toolkit for all politicians to use …
I declare an interest, having been engaged with these matters for rather more than 20 years as the co-founder of Migration Watch, together with Professor David Coleman of Oxford University. I have read the Government’s Statement with great care. It covers a huge amount of ground, as previous questio…
My Lords, it was a day much like any other when I was diagnosed. A busy day at the office was followed by a hospital appointment to find out why, within months, my face had, in effect, shut down on the left side. Nothing prepared me for what came next: an MRI scan showed that a succession of mini-st…
My Lords, I can be very concise, mainly because I agree almost entirely with everything that the noble Lord, Lord Harper, said. We should not lose sight of the fact that this whole issue is a real concern to the public. They think we are being made fools of and they are largely right. It is time tha…
Noble Lords will be aware that I have been concerned with immigration matters for about 25 years. I have not paid much attention to asylum because the numbers were much smaller, but they are now significantly greater. I repeat my warning that we really need to have our feet on the ground if we are g…
My Lords, as the Minister knows better than most of us, this is a very complex situation. The Government have handled it rather well so far; it has been a very complex week and the decisions taken have been very accurate. Nevertheless, I hope that the Government will be extremely careful in relation…
My Lords, I came to this matter with an open mind. I have listened to the arguments on both sides, and I have some background in the region. I conclude that the Minister has made his case on this matter.
My Lords, I offer qualified support for the Bill. I do so in the firm belief that, unless we seize this moment to regain credible control over all forms of migration, we shall betray both the national interest and the public trust. Regrettably, my own party failed to properly deal with the issue in …
I should like to declare an interest as president of Migration Watch UK. Indeed, I have spent 24 years on this subject, but I promise to be extremely brief today.
Much of what the Minister said has addressed the issues that we now face. What this discussion has not faced is the sheer scale of the p…