Yes the sun is out and there is not a cloud in the sky – although thunderstorms are threatened for later today.
Keir Starmer has said he will reduce the number of immigrants which he now seems to accept have got out of hands. But exactly how he will do this is not really clear. Minor changes to rules imposed by the ECHR will not suffice. The real problem is some lawyers have got out of hand and have finessed the legal system to put obstacles in the way of any restrictions. They have been supported by funding from legal aid and from charities. Unless such funding is stopped, not a lot will change.
We need an Act of Parliament that stops funding of legal appeals regarding refusal of admittance.
The Telegraph ran a good article today on how Starmer made past promises to stop illegal immigration, none of which were carried through or had much impact – see https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/05/12/keir-starmer-has-changed-his-tune-on-immigration/
Why the sudden urgency to do something about immigration? It’s because the Reform Party are now looking a serious threat to both Labour and Conservative Parties. Recent opinion polls and local election results put Reform well in the lead. Personally I won’t be changing my voting intentions unless I see some actual results from the Labour initiative. But Chris Philp M.P. (shadow Home Secretary) is doing a good job at promoting some Conservative Party initiatives on immigration. He has always impressed me with his ability to put forward practical and popular policies. He would be a better leader for the Conservative Party than current or recent ones.
If you think immigration is out of hand in this country and that it could not get worse, just look at Sweden. Gang warfare has broken out and even children are paid to commit crimes including murder as they cannot be prosecuted. Over the 20 years since I worked for a Swedish company, the culture of Sweden has changed from being a safe and disciplined country to one of rampant crime. This is a direct result of excessive immigration. See https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/11/30/sweden-gangs-child-contract-killings-foxtrot-young-offender/
Another big political issue at present is free speech in the UK. There have been several examples recently of the police prosecuting or harassing people who might have said allegedly offensive words on social media (for example the case of Julian Foulkes). I certainly think it has gone to far and I today joined the Free Speech Union (see https://freespeechunion.org/) who have been supporting challenges to the misuse of legislation in this area. Even I am at risk of falling foul of some misguided police challenges after some over-sensitive person complains about my political views!
Roger Lawson (Twitter: https://x.com/RogerWLawson )
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I agree and like you have sadly changed to reform I can only hope that Reform and the Tories unite