Reform of the immigration system

Julie Cooper, Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Burnley has today backed plans by the Prime Minister and Gordon Brown to continue  reform of the immigration system and extend the control of the points-based system for non-EU immigrants.

Net immigration has fallen and Labour’s controlled immigration system is allowing us to be more selective so that only those with the skills that we need to build a stronger economy can come here. Julie Cooper said “As our investment in the training of young people and adult workers raises local skills levels the need for skilled migrant workers can be substantially reduced. This will ensure that as growth returns we will see rising levels of employment, skills and wages not more immigration which is the right approach for people and businesses in Burnley and Padiham. Immigration can be a very emotive issue. Some people say we shouldn’t talk about immigration. I’m not one of them. In fact I believe the opposite, we need to have an open and honest debate about it. People in Burnley will quite rightly have concerns and questions about immigration. It is important that we work to create an atmosphere of fairness and tolerance and I do strongly believe that it is right for people settling in Burnley to face up to their responsibilities in British society.

Gordon Brown said “By controlling immigration for a fairer Britain – by investing in the skills of our own workforce, we can ensure the flexibility for our businesses to secure the highly skilled migrants they need while continuing to control inward migration.”