Towards consensus? Centre-right parties and immigration policy in the UK and Ireland

Abstract

The UK has long experience of immigration; Ireland until very recently was a country of emigration. Over the past decade both states have opened their borders to large numbers of economic migrants, notably from the new EU member states. In both states, the major political parties have broadly welcomed globalization and the benefits it can bring, and it is hard to discern a distinctive centre-right approach. Traditionally, the Conservatives have been seen as tougher on immigration than Labour in the UK, yet there has been little difference in practice between the two parties' policies in government. In Ireland, Fine Gael has primarily criticized the way the government implements its policies rather than showing any fundamental difference over substance. This article considers the changing patterns of migration, how these have affected discourse and policy in the UK and Ireland, and looks at why there is not a distinct centre-right approach in either state.

Keywords:

• Conservative Party
• EU
• Fianna Fáil
• Fine Gael
• Immigration

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I should like to thank Ted Hallett for his guidance and assistance in organizing interviews in Dublin and Meng-Hsuan Chou for research assistance, as well as Tim Bale and two reviewers for their comments. I should also like to thank all interviewees, including one not mentioned in the references, Philip Watt.

Notes

1. For recent data on migratory flows, see Salt (2006).

2. In 2005, 70,000 people moved to Ireland and only 16,000 emigrated – a high point in the reversal of previous patterns (Quinn 2006: viii).

3. While it is true that most EU states have been reluctant to cede sovereignty in the areas of asylum and immigration, Britain and Ireland, along with Denmark, are the only states with opt-ins or opt-outs from these parts of the acquis. For the specific British and Irish opt-ins, see Peers (2007: Annex IV).

4. There are some notable differences, e.g. Labour abolished the Conservatives' 1980 ‘primary purpose’ legislation, which had limited the scope for family reunification. However, the rules remained tight (Geddes 2003: 35).

5. The depth of discomfort provoked by Powell's speech was clear 40 years later when, in autumn 2007, a Tory parliamentary candidate was obliged to resign for implying that Powell might have been right.

6. For a discussion of types of migration, as well as statistics on the inflows, see Salt (2005).

7. The precise figures are difficult to substantiate since Ireland, like the UK, does not have exit checks at ports of departure. The most recent Irish census, conducted in 2006, suggests that there were 410,000 non-nationals usually resident in Ireland (Central Statistics Office Ireland 2007: 5).

8. Out of eight regions, five mentioned crime and education as problems, six health and seven housing as having been negatively impacted by immigration (Home Office Border and Immigration Agency 2007: 15).