Author set to ignite immigration debate (From Evesham Journal)

Author set to ignite immigration debate

9:20am Thursday 3rd April 2008 in News By Tony Donnelly

A VALE man who was forced to quit as a Tory candidate after expressing support for Enoch Powell's notorious "rivers of blood" speech, is set to cause a political storm with a new book on the future of the country.

Tomorrow's England, which is due to be published on April 23 - St George's Day - has been written by former Birmingham Post editor Nigel Hastilow, who lives in Wickhamford.

The book is a scathing indictment of the policies of successive governments and their failure to control the number of immigrants coming into the country.

Mr Hastilow wrote: "When you ask most people in the Black Country what the single biggest problem facing the country is, most people say immigration. Many insist, Enoch Powell was right'.

"Do we really want increased taxes to meet the increased costs of an increasing population? We must police our borders.

"Deport without debate bogus asylum-seekers and illegal immigrants. Abandon the "human rights" merry-go-round.

"Tell the EU we won't take anyone from Bulgaria or Romania or any other country that wants to "join Europe". And get rid of the 11,000 foreigners in our jails."

Speaking this week, Mr Hastilow said the Conservative Party had overreacted to his original column.

"I was only stating the obvious," he said. "Hundreds and hundreds of people got in touch to say they agreed with me.

Mr Hastilow was the Conservative candidate for Halesowen and Rowley Regis in 2007 when a column he had written for a local paper caught the attention of the national media and in particular The Observer.

Keith Best, chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service, said that although he had not seen the book he did not oppose open debate on the subject of immigration.

"I don't think anyone is arguing against the fact that immigration should be managed."

The House of Lords economic affairs committee this week reported that ministerial claims that immigration is necessary to fill labour shortages is fundementally flawed'. But resreach by Farm Business magazine amongst 3,400 British farmers revealed that Polish workers in particular are now an integral part of life in the British countryside.