Immigration

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 8:28 pm on 4 December 1979.

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Photo of Mr Nicholas Budgen Mr Nicholas Budgen , Wolverhampton South West 8:28, 4 December 1979

I think I made it quite plain that, in my opinion, the overriding requirement of an incoming Tory Administration was to curb the rate of immigration as quickly and efficiently as possible, consistent with any detailed and specific promises made in the past. I always recognised that that would be very difficult to do and for that reason I consistently and awkwardly pressed for a debate in the House. I recognised that this was an area in which the Tory Party might run into serious problems by making wide, general statements that were misunderstood in the country. My hon. Friends who are careful and intelligent observers of political argument have demonstrated how this has been misunderstood—