theguardian - 4 days ago

The Conservatives, like Reform, are rooting their immigration policy in the language of welfare dependency. It’s deeply harmful

There is a video doing the rounds on social media in which Conservative MP Katie Lam pours beads into glass jars. Each bead represents 1,000 migrants and – we are led to assume – the containers they sit in, Britain. As Lam points to the number of people on indefinite leave to remain (ILR) and “all the welfare and services” they have access to, a jar ominously overflows. “State support should only be for citizens,” she says directly to the camera. “And if they are already here, they must not be able to go on benefits. Instead, they will need to leave.”This is not just a social media clip from a rogue shadow minister. It is – potentially – actual Conservative party policy. In recent days, the party has confirmed it would retrospectively strip residency rights (otherwise known as ILR) from people who claim benefits or whose dependents do, even if they have lived here for decades. On Wednesday, after a large backlash, officials said a new policy would be produced “in the coming weeks” but refused to rule out removing ILR.Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

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