Yesterday Mr Wilson used his undoubted eloquence to justify the White Paper on tumigration. He made it quite clear that the proposed legislation was s decision of the Government as a whole and not of any one Department. It is the Labour Government which is responsible for this shameful act which violates the most basic principles of the Movement. He defended, not only the limitations on Commonwealth inmigrants but also the new powers given to the Home Office in respect of deportation. These, he clrimed, would only be used agzinst those who have illegally and fraudently entered the country. But can he guarantee that a Tory Home Secretary (or Frank Soskice for that matter) would always put this liberal interpretation on the so-called repatriation clauses? Elsewhere in his speech, the Prime Minister said: "We will not trade ... any «-. principle with those who may be faint of heart or infirm of purpose." Fine words. But what has happened to those principles which Labour's leaders so passionately espoused when they opposed the Tory Immigration Act in 1962? The only basic fact that ‘has changed since then is that the Tories won Smethwick on a racialist platform. Has clinging to office become the most important of Socialist principles? Mr Wilson maintained that new measure for i grant control was necessary because there are towns and cities in Britain’(asked) to absorb immigration on a scale beyond their social capacity to absorb." How was this estiblished? There has not been any efficient research into this question: It is 2 conclusion 2rbitrarily arrived at to fit into preconceived prejudices. In any case,. the White Paper does not propose 1 ceiling on immigration as a whole - only on Commonwealth immigrants. Only, in fact, on coloured immigrants. "We cannot" said Mr Wilson, "take the risk of allowing the democracy of this country to become stained, tarnished with the taint of racialism or of colour prejudice. by its implicit assertion that people from certain countries are undesirable", the White Papér lends fuel to the racislist incendiaries which they will not fail to ignite. Perhaps unfortunately for the P.M., the 1961 Census, published on thé same dry that he spoke, shows that in Greater London immigrants constituted 2.4 per cent of the total population; in the West Midlands they made up 1.3 per cent; else~ where less then 1 per cent, Does this rerlly constitute a problem with which Labour Britain cannot cope? Let the Government emphasise the point which immigrants are making? our economy. Tell the people that 94 per cent of immigrants are employed. Thrdw in the teeth of the racialists the charge that they are all living on public assistance and vice. Tell thém that the largest group of immigrants are staffing our National Health Service. How many hospital wards would have to close if it were not for the 13,000 immigrant nurses? Tell those who wait pitiently in the bus queues that they would have to wait even longer were it not for the 11,000 immigrants employed in public transport. As for houses, thrit favourite bogeyman of the racialists - in 1961 there were 8,500 immigrants in the building industry. Delegrtes hive the chance today to wine this shrmeful page out of Labour's book. Throw out this White Papér and tell the world that racialism is foreign to the spirit of British Lxbour. We have proclaimed. the Brotherhood of Man from the platform. Let us now translate it into action by a positive gesture, Tell the Government that this White Paper is not wanted: tell them to listen to the voice —— and not to the jungle noises which emerged from the hustings of
wick.