PRIME minister David Cameron's speech about immigration has already earned him a sharp rebuke from political opponents and a disgruntled reaction from his government colleague, Dr Vince Cable.
In a speech today in Sale, near Manchester Cameron will say immigrants are causing “discomfort and disjointedness” in Britain's neighbourhoods.
He will also say that everyone has a duty to fight fascism and racism but blamed the Labour party for helping to fuel it.
He will also extol the virtues of immigration but reserves his ire for those who appear not to want to embrace British life.
He explained that some people's reluctance to speak English was at the root of the problem and showed a degree of antipathy towards integration that was important to a sense of community and belonging – and wasn't in keeping with British life.
“That's why, when there have been significant numbers of new people arriving in neighborhoods … perhaps not able to speak the same language as those living there … on occasions not really wanting or even willing to integrate … that has created a kind of discomfort and disjointedness in some neighbourhoods.”
But the speech, which also blames Labour for increasing immigration when it was in power, has been severely criticised by Dr Cable, the Lib Dem business secretary.
He said the language was “very unwise”, played into hands of those extremists both he and Cameron wanted to challenge and was a case of electioneering. There are local polls around many parts of the country on May 5.
"I do understand there is an election coming but talk of mass immigration risks inflaming the extremism to which he and I are both strongly opposed,” Dr Cable told the BBC this morning.
He said that immigration remained important to Britain and its economy and the talk of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, rather than thousands of immigrants was also unhelpful.
Cable has secured concessions to the policy of restricting immigration through a strict cap on numbers.
Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the home affairs committee, also believes the prime minister was wrong to talk so disparagingly about immigrants.
He said: “I think that those who have come to this country, those first generation immigrants do want to integrate and, if you look at the major towns and cities in this country, there is a desire for people to be involved.
I think we've got a better record of toleration and integration than any country in Europe.” said Vaz.
