A Conservative party candidate has resigned over comments made about immigration in a local newspaper.
Nigel Hastilow, who was picked as a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for a West Midlands seat at the next general election, stood down after being criticised for writing in a local newspaper claiming that the late Enoch Powell was “right” about the scale of immigration in the UK. Enoch Powell who was a Conservative MP, became “notorious” for his infamous “Rivers Of Blood” speech on immigration in the 1960s.
It is good that Hastilow was criticised for his comments, but should he have resigned? There are probably many people who agree with him, for the obvious reasons. Yet while the Tories are being beaten up over something quite trivial, the present Labour government are pushing ahead with many controversial policies that have a far greater impact on immigrants, like the plans to extend Anti-terror laws, and moves to increase stop-and-search in many inner city areas.
This latest incident shows the unwillingness of the UK’s political establishment to put forward a coherent, honest, and sensible public debate over immigration.