Controversial Lib Dem plans to allow illegal immigrants to stay and work in Britain were exposed as madness yesterday as unemployment hit a 16-year high.
Nick Clegg struggled to defend allowing asylum-seekers to join the workforce when he came under attack from a panel of first-time voters.
With official figures showing 2.5 million out of work, they warned it would be unfair to law-abiding residents.
The Lib Dem leader said an amnesty would create "a route to earned legalisation for up to 600,000 people who have been living in this country illegally."
But the new voters said the foreigners would be merely taking job opportunities from British people. One asked him: "How can you justify letting these people stay after they have effectively cheated the system for 10 years?” Conservatives said Mr Clegg’s bad reception underlined how bad a policy it was.
“The last thing Britain needs to deal with our immigration challenges is a Lib Dem amnesty for illegal immigrants,” said Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling.
“If Nick Clegg lets illegal immigrants get away with staying here it’ll send a message around the world and more and more people will try to come to this country.”
Mr Clegg’s grilling came as statistics showed how the competition for jobs in recession-hit Britain has got even tougher – dealing a blow to Labour’s claims to be the best party to run the economy.
Unemployment rose 43,000 in the three months to February to its highest level since 1994, the Office for National Statistics revealed.
Economic inactivity – which includes those who have given up looking for work, the early retired, long-term sick, students and carers – soared 110,000 in the latest quarter to 8.16million, more than one in five of the working age population and the worst since records began in 1971.
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Theresa May said: “Nothing could give clearer evidence that Labour’s policies are not working.”
David Kern, the British Chambers of Commerce economist said the data supported his forecast that unemployment would hit 2.65million this year.
As the grim figures emerged, Mr Clegg was struggling to persuade first-time voters on BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat to back his policy of an amnesty for illegal immigrants who can prove they have been in Britain for 10 years or more, speak English, have no criminal record and want to pay taxes.
Student Marie Jackson, 19, urged him to justify the measures, saying: “I can’t see how it’s fair.” Mr Clegg insisted his policy was not to let people stay “no questions asked”. Labour and Tory Governments had caused “complete chaos” in the immigration system, leading to large numbers – estimated at 900,000 – coming in illegally, he said.
He stressed the people to whom his policy would apply were “here already”. His interrogators were unimpressed. Ms Jackson complained that those people would then also get access to benefits.
Adam Hatton, 18, challenged him to explain how the illegal immigrants would prove they had been in Britain for 10 years – because they would not have the right paperwork, such as bank accounts and bills.
When Mr Clegg, sounding exasperated, suggested he could not pretend it was not a problem, Mr Hatton shot back: “I’m not pretending at all”.
The Lib Dem leader struggled to put a number on how many illegal immigrants would qualify for the amnesty. He argued it would affect only a “very, very small” number of people but admitted that “of course” he did not know. Daily Express
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