Howard picks asylum as key strategy

Michael Howard today raised immigration as a key election battleground by unveiling a radical plan for an annual national quota under a Tory government.

Promising a "turning point" in numbers entering Britain, the Conservative leader said Parliament would vote every year on how many people would be allowed to settle in the UK.

A points system would mean skilled workers, those with family ties to the UK and those with investment capital could jump to the front of the queue.

His ideas would mark a reversal of immigration policy which has focused for three decades on whether applicants for citizenship or refugees are eligible, rather than how many should be allowed to settle.

With the looming general election in mind, Mr Howard's advisers believe a tough stance on immigration could see off the threat posed by the UK Independence Party to Conservatives in marginal seats.

While stressing the positive benefits of immigration to British culture, Mr Howard was due to say: "We cannot continue to allow unlimited immigration into the United Kingdom indefinitely.

"Britain has reached a turning point. As a country we need a totally new approach to immigration and asylum.

"We need a system that helps genuine refugees and gives priority to those who want to come to Britain, work hard and make a positive contribution."

Home Office figures for last year show 139,675 people were granted the right to stay in the UK. Of those, 66,000 were allowed in to join their families, 29,000 were allowed to stay after working here and 21,000 were asylum cases. The total does not include illegal immigration.

Mr Howard's key ideas are drawn from Australia which has a reputation for tough controls, including a points system, and has been accused of favouring rich, white applicants. It admitted 66,000 skilled workers, 40,000 family members and 12,000 refugees in 2002-3, with the quotas due to fall slightly in the current year for each category.

Mr Howard was saying that the new annual immigration limit would be determined " by Britain's economic needs, demands of family reunion and our moral obligation to give refuge to those fleeing persecution"-He said the first priority would be another clampdown on illegal migrants. "There are now over 250,000 failed asylum seekers living in Britain who have no right to be here."

He highlighted February's Morecambe Bay tragedy in which 21 Chinese cocklepickers died, some of them believed to be illegal workers, to illustrate "just how bad and how dangerous illegal immigrants' working conditions can be".

Labour hit back at Mr Howard's record on asylum when Conservatives were in power. Home Office minister Des Browne said that when Mr Howard was home secretary it took 20 months for an initial decision on an asylum seeker, there was a backlog of 50,000 cases and 3,000 people a year were removed.

"By contrast, Labour has reduced asylum claims by 70 per cent in two years, we are removing over four times as many - 13,000 - failed asylum seekers as Michael Howard and the backlog is down to 13,300 and falling," he said.