May fails to make a balanced case

Publication this week of the second volume of Charles Moore’s authorised biography of Margaret Thatcher is a reminder in the week of the Conservative Party Conference of how times have changed since the last time a Tory government was in power. Gone are the mass-employment industries such as mining, the powerful trade unions, the nationalised industries. Gone too is the near zero immigration of the Thatcher decade. Instead profound political and economic changes – the fall of the Iron Curtain, the expansion of free movement in Europe after the Maastricht Treaty, globalisation, conflicts in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa – have led to the biggest migration of peoples since the end of the Second World War.

Theresa May, the Home Secretary, and the most significant woman in Conservative politics since Margaret Thatcher – who is a potential prime ministerial contender – addressed this issue at the Tory party conference this week. Mrs May warned that a cohesive society is impossible to build when immigration is too high and when schools, hospitals, housing and transport cannot cope with increasing numbers of people, and that the economic and fiscal benefit of high immigration is “close to zero”.

In recent months many British people have responded with compassion to scenes of desperation as people have made attempt after attempt to enter Britain. But there are also plenty of people worried about the impact on infrastructure, on jobs, and on services of increasing numbers coming to British shores. Managing immigration is an important political task, as is consideration of people’s fears about how society is being affected. But suggesting that net immigration has virtually no benefit is not only incorrect but a dangerous tactic if it whips up already volatile emotions. Talk of foreigners threatening society may be tempting for politicians keen to make a populist appeal to voters but is not a narrative worthy of one holding one of the great offices of state.

It is no wonder, then, that Mrs May’s speech drew criticism not only from politicians of other parties but also from employers who argued that migrants fill skills shortages. Even around the Cabinet table there are differences. The government has maintained its pledge to cut migration to under 100,000 a year, but Chancellor George Osborne and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond want students excluded from the figure. With net migration at a record high of 330,000, Mrs May insists this would be fiddling the figures.

Mrs May’s remarks will unsettle many migrant communities, particularly among those who have arrived in Britain believing that a better standard of living was possible through hard work – the value they thought they shared with Margaret Thatcher and the current Home Secretary. Where Mrs May will win all-round support is in her commitment to counter human traffickers who exploit both those fleeing persecution and others looking to enhance their economic prospects. Her work here with the Catholic Church in Britain and the Vatican is commendable. Her inflammatory comments this week are not.