Blair Vows To Rewrite Asylum Laws

by Philip Webster, Political Editor, Electronic Times, Friday 4th May

Tony Blair today tries to counter charges that Labour is ìsoft on asylumî by promising to strengthen the 50-year-old rules that govern applications from people fleeing persecution and seeking safety in Britain.

The Prime Minister, in a deliberate response to Tory claims that he is trying to silence the asylum debate, heralds reforms that he says would help the genuine asylum-seeker but mean faster decisions and removal of those who abuse the system.

Mr Blairís intervention, in an article in The Times, is an acknowledgement that, despite their own difficulties over race, the Conservatives have struck home with their accusations that Labour wants to stifle the asylum issue.

With Westminster again in the grip of electioneering fever, Mr Blair writes that reform of the operation of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees, on which asylum applications are based, ìmust be a priority should we win the next electionî.

Mr Blair, who yesterday continued clearing the decks with the declaration that the battle against foot-and-mouth was in the ìhome straightî, has called off a visit to Berlin on Monday to work flat-out on the election. He will name June 7 as the day either next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Building on a recent speech by Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, Mr Blair suggests in his article that genuine refugees could be helped if they were allowed to make applications from abroad. He also proposes a European Union-wide resettlement programme to ensure that the burdens of taking refugees are shared more equally.

But he also issues a warning that the convention should ensure that those who are not entitled to asylum ìare dealt with swiftly, through quick decisions and an effective system for returnsî.

The Government is expected to propose that there should be a special fast-track system for dealing with those who pass through other countries before choosing to make their asylum application in Britain. It will also suggest changes to ensure that the convention is interpreted in the same way in Britain as in other countries. The aim would be to stop some taking a stricter line against applications than Britain.

Labour sources admit that internal polling suggests that it scores worse on asylum than almost any other subject and Mr Blairís intervention is intended as the start of a fightback. He writes that the internal row in the Conservative Party on race has made it harder to have a sensible debate on asylum.

ìOur criticism of the Conservative Opposition over asylum has not been about racism but about opportunism,î he says, accusing it of opposing plans to improve the situation.

Mr Blair says there are two important principles at stake ó an enduring Labour belief in helping those fleeing persecution and torture, and upholding the rule of law. ìWhen people try to abuse those laws it is right that we enforce them,î he writes.

Labourís asylum policy can be summed up as ìasylum for those who qualify under the rules, fast action for those who donít,î he says.

As the countdown to June 7 began, Mr Blair called a press conference at Downing Street to declare that the foot-and-mouth epidemic was under control. He said that there must still be vigilance and that the battle was not completely over, but added: "I believe we are on the home straight."

He said that the backlog of animals awaiting culling was virtually cleared and that the last funeral pyre had been lit.

At Conservative Central Office William Hague told his party that the election was there to be won. "If Tony Blair chooses to go to the country next week and all the signs are that he will, we will be ready for him."

Mr Blair called Gerhard Schrˆder, the German Chancellor, to tell him that Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, would be representing Britain at Mondayís conference of European socialist leaders in Berlin.

Mr Blair is expected instead to spend the Bank Holiday at No 10. Officials said he would be concentrating on the "domestic agenda."

Source: Electronic Times, http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-124366,00.html

Copyright 2001