Foreign visa holders are far tougher on illegal migrants than the Brits who answered the Home Office’s earned settlement consultation. And the charities…
Data tables published alongside today’s consultation response show 77% of current visa holders back a settlement penalty for people who arrive illegally, versus only 45% of British respondents.
Half of visa holders picked the toughest option they could – a 20-year wait – against 29% of Brits. Only 7% of visa holders say illegal arrivals should face no penalty at all. Among British respondents it is 48%…
Mahmood has gone for an extra 10 years. The Home Office points out that “a clear majority of respondents” backed longer waits for illegal arrivals…
It is the same story on benefits. 55% of British respondents want no penalty for migrants who claim public funds, against 21% of visa holders. The British respondents happen to look nothing like the country either. 62% work in professional or managerial jobs and 27% live in London. Even the Home Office concedes the results “should not be treated as representative of the general public”. A cross-section of Islington dinner parties and the charity sector…
66% of the 560 third sector groups (charities) that responded say illegal arrivals should face no penalty, with just 20% backing any penalty at all. Among private firms, 70% back one…
Campaign groups spent the run-up to the deadline coaching people on how to respond. One guide from migrant charity Praxis told fans: “We reject the concept of ‘earned settlement’ entirely and urge the Government to change course.” The enemy within…
Hilariously 41% of charities that use volunteers said counting volunteering towards settlement would harm their organisation. Responses mentioned the extra paperwork, volunteers who would vanish once they had their papers, and forged references with the charity’s name on them. The Home Office duly dropped its proposal to count volunteering. For avoidance of doubt this sector knows full well about people gaming the rules…
Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked John Healey: “Just finally, I mean Andy Burnham has been very clear he wants Britain back in the European Union in his lifetime. Do you?”
The Chancellor replied: “I’m older than Andy Burnham. I don’t expect to see that.”