It is a big moment in the campaign: Tony Blair has made a speech in Dover confronting Michael Howard head on about the consequences of running a general election campaign that so strongly exploits immigration and asylum. He went as far as warning him against playing politics with immigration, saying there was even a danger the Tories would undermine race and community relations in Britain.
Blair also gave his strongest defence yet of immigration and the positive contribution immigrants bring to Britain, from the one-third of NHS staff to the workers in the financial services sector who help to make London the financial centre of Europe. He was particulary scathing about Michael Howard's decision to make the issue such a central part of his campaign while having few concrete proposals beyond sending all asylum seekers to some unknown fantasy island.
Labour has let the Tories run on asylum and immigration for two weeks practically unchallenged in the belief that they are putting off more voters than they are attracting. Blair has finally made a powerful intervention that may serve to cool temperatures amid fevered speculation over the numbers of illegal migrants.
Unfortunately, when it came to Blair's own policy, there was little talk of the contribution illegal migrants make in Britain's food industry or of the steps that are needed to regularise their position. Instead, all he offered was a diet of more detention and the introduction of tagging for failed asylum seekers prior to their removal.
This policy of compulsory repatriation has proved ineffective in practically every other European country. Spain, Italy, France, Belgium , Portugal, Greece and the United States all see the point in granting amnesty to illegal entrants, who make an important economic contribution. Blair will have to face a similar decision soon.
