Tory immigration policy worst of both worlds says Huhne

8.05.00pm GMT Tue 16th Mar 2010

In a keynote speech to Policy Exchange today, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne will say that an overall national limit of the sort proposed by the Tories would be too lax in London and the South East and too tough in Scotland.

Commenting, Chris Huhne said:

“Immigration is vital to our economy but lots of people are worried by the issue because of Labour’s catastrophic mismanagement of the system.

“If we are to make the case for a liberal immigration policy, we have to give the public confidence that the flow is properly managed and the pace of change is reasonable.

“The Liberal Democrats are the only party offering a hard-headed assessment of the needs of different regions and parts of the economy.

“We need a system that makes migrants go to those areas that most need them.

“The Tory policy of pulling up the drawbridge because we have reached an arbitrary national limit would bring in the worst of all worlds.

“Immigrants would continue to crowd into the most populous parts of the country – making the policy too lax for the South East of England and too tight for Scotland.”