Saturday, July 27, 2013
'Go home' message is ill-judged nonsense
When UKIP claim that a Government initiative is nasty, unpleasant and insensitive then clearly Ministers are on the wrong track.
As the Guardian makes clear the initiative, which appears to have been approved without Liberal Democrats' involvement, and whereby vans are being driven around the London boroughs of Hounslow, Barking and Dagenham, Ealing, Barnet, Brent and Redbridge carrying billboards has caused huge controversy within the Coalition and without.
The billboards form part of a £10,000 pilot, showing residents how many illegal migrants have recently been arrested in their local area. They carry a text number for overstayers to use to arrange their return home.
The posters read: "In the UK illegally? Go home or face arrest. Text HOME to 78070 for free advice, and help with travel documents. We can help you to return home voluntarily without fear of arrest or detention."
The Home Office say that if deemed successful, the vans could be rolled out across the country. Not if we can help it.
Liberal Democrat ministers have now pressed the government to abandon the campaign. After three days of disquiet among party activists and MPs, a senior Lib Dem source said the party's ministers would call for the posters to be withdrawn: "Ministers will be pushing for this to be stopped – it is not Lib Dem or coalition policy."
A party spokesman added: "These poster vans were not cleared or agreed by Liberal Democrats in government. We are totally committed to tackling illegal immigration but this is a disproportionate, distasteful and ineffective way to do it."
And so say all of us.
Meanwhile some have responded differently.
As the Guardian makes clear the initiative, which appears to have been approved without Liberal Democrats' involvement, and whereby vans are being driven around the London boroughs of Hounslow, Barking and Dagenham, Ealing, Barnet, Brent and Redbridge carrying billboards has caused huge controversy within the Coalition and without.
The billboards form part of a £10,000 pilot, showing residents how many illegal migrants have recently been arrested in their local area. They carry a text number for overstayers to use to arrange their return home.
The posters read: "In the UK illegally? Go home or face arrest. Text HOME to 78070 for free advice, and help with travel documents. We can help you to return home voluntarily without fear of arrest or detention."
The Home Office say that if deemed successful, the vans could be rolled out across the country. Not if we can help it.
Liberal Democrat ministers have now pressed the government to abandon the campaign. After three days of disquiet among party activists and MPs, a senior Lib Dem source said the party's ministers would call for the posters to be withdrawn: "Ministers will be pushing for this to be stopped – it is not Lib Dem or coalition policy."
A party spokesman added: "These poster vans were not cleared or agreed by Liberal Democrats in government. We are totally committed to tackling illegal immigration but this is a disproportionate, distasteful and ineffective way to do it."
And so say all of us.
Meanwhile some have responded differently.
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Clearly the message is aimed at the indigenous population. English is not the first language of the immigrants Theresa May and Kenneth Clarke want to demonise, and they are unlikely to be able to read beyond the basics even if they have a working knowledge of the spoken language. So this is dog-whistle party campaigning on the council tax or the state (do we yet know who has paid for these vans?).
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