IMMIGRATION POLICY
I need no reminding of the need for fair but firm immigration control. I have not only preached but
practised that policy. The Home Secretary and I have
worked together on these matters before. All of us in
Government are clear that strict immigration control is
needed if we are to have decent relations between the
communities in this country. That has been one
consideration in our minds throughout this discussion. The other has been the need to keep Hong Kong going as our last big colony at a level of prosperity and
stability which both the interests of Britain and the
reputation of Britain require. Of course it has not been
easy to reconcile these considerations. We decided that
because of the first consideration we could not possibly accept the advice of the r. h. g. for Yeovil that we
should let in all 3.7 [?] million BDTCS. We decided that because of the second consideration we could not possibly
say a flat no to Hong Kong. In that sense the Bill is a compromise criticised by some for going too far, by others for not going far enough, in fact we think getting it about right. If we had sat back and said nothing
doing, if our other policies had also failed and Hong Kong had degenerated into chaos or anarchy, then we might
have faced a refugee problem which neither law nor admiration could prevent people coming here and
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claiming asylum as refugees, conceivably on a scale which
would make the present measure look small.