Letters From A Tory

Dear Minette Marrin,

Thank you so much for being honest about immigration in the Sunday Times.  Despite the ability of the word ‘immigration’ to polarise public opinion, you have highlighted the undeniable fact of the strain placed on our public services by having an open-door policy towards immigration for years, if not decades.

It frustrates me enormously that David Cameron does not take this angle in the immigration debate because I firmly believe that the British voters will flock behind him should he unambiguously state his belief that we need a skills-based immigration policy for English-speaking migrants which does not allow people immediate access to our public services.  Obviously most migrant workers pay their taxes and are law-abiding citizens, but this does not mean that they should be allowed to take advantage of our school system (which, as you said, is buckling under the pressure of having to cope with children who don’t even speak English) and our health service, which is plainly open to abuse.  The Conservatives are genuinely struggling in the polls at the moment thanks to their failure to appease core voters and attract the swing voters, but a policy that focuses on addressing the issues you raised in your article will turn the polls against Labour - although should an autumn election be called, there may not be enough time for this to have an effect.

Yours in admiration,

A.Tory