Name me a party with a chance of winning a general election in the UK that explicitly commits to lowering immigration substantially as a key policy. There isn't one!
Because they can't? We all know that the UK has a massive skills shortage, and so we can't close our borders.
Policies like this and the points systems are designed to lower immigration, especially from non-white countries, without actually saying that it is the purpose of it.
> We all know that the UK has a massive skills shortage, and so we can't close our borders.
Alternatively we could do something to wean our country off its addiction to cheap imported labour, and invest in the skills and pay of the people that are already here. I don't accept it's as cut and dried as you assert.
> Policies like this and the points systems are designed to lower immigration, especially from non-white countries, without actually saying that it is the purpose of it.
But this government is doing nothing concrete to cut immigration! If only it were so.
Yes, there are solutions. However the current situation is that companies won't pay more so the government can't close our borders.
Tories will do anything they are paid to support.
Their current platform is anti-foreigners, to satisfy the racist propaganda they spread hence the immigration rules. However it has to be balanced with the money, that requests cheap foreign labour. What a conundrum!
I completely agree about the WIDE gap between rhetoric and delivery. I'm just saying the whole thing is pretty nuts in the UK. We are really really bad at moderate policy (see also crime and punishment, Benefits)