November 04, 2007

'Enoch was right' claim sparks Tory race row

· Cameron urged to sack key candidate
· Powell praised for immigrants speech

David Cameron was facing a row over race last night after a candidate in a high-profile seat praised Enoch Powell for his notorious 'rivers of blood' speech, which warned that Britain was 'literally mad' to allow widespread immigration.

Days after Cameron was praised by the head of the Equality Commission for tackling the issue of immigration in a non-racial way, Labour called on the Tory leader to remove Nigel Hastilow as a prospective Conservative candidate for declaring that Powell was 'right'. A spokesman said: 'It's not unreasonable to be concerned about the impact of immigration, but it is unacceptable to say Enoch Powell was right. How can David Cameron believe this is acceptable?'

Pressure is likely to increase on Cameron to act after the Tory leadership decided last night that there were no grounds to move against Hastilow. He is instead to be asked to clarify his remarks and to make clear that his views are about immigration and, unlike Powell's speech, do not stray into the area of race.

The row broke out after Hastilow, who last year accused Muslims of using terror attacks to 'issue demands' for their own bank holidays and schools, used his regular column in the Wolverhampton Express and Star newspaper to complain about how immigration has changed Britain and placed great strains on housing and public services.

He wrote that 'we [Britain] roll out the red carpet for foreigners while leaving the locals to fend for themselves'. Hastilow, a former editor of the Birmingham Post, adds: 'When you ask most people in the Black Country what the single biggest problem facing the country is, most people say immigration. Many insist: "Enoch Powell was right".

'Enoch, once MP for Wolverhampton South-West, was sacked from the Conservative front bench and marginalised politically for his 1968 "rivers of blood" speech, warning that uncontrolled immigration would change our country irrevocably. He was right. It has changed dramatically. But his speech was political suicide. Enoch's successors in parliament are desperate to avoid ever mentioning the issue.'

The remarks by Hastilow, who was selected in April to contest the marginal seat of Halesowen and Rowley Regis, which the Tories must win if they are to regain power, present Cameron with a headache. It is only days since Trevor Phillips, head of the new Equality and Human Rights Commission, praised Cameron for a speech on immigration in which the Tory leader had managed to 'deracialise' a highly-sensitive issue. Cameron showed his new approach in March this year when he sacked the shadow Homeland Security Minister, Patrick Mercer, for 'completely unacceptable' remarks suggesting that many ethnic minority soldiers used accusations of racism to cover up their idleness.

Moving against a parliamentary candidate is more difficult because local Conservative associations jealously guard their independence. Mary Docker, chairman of the Halesowen and Rowley Regis association, last night offered strong support for Hastilow. Asked by The Observer whether she would stand by him, Docker said: 'Most certainly. Yes. He was selected by our association to stand in the forthcoming election whenever that may be. He is an excellent candidate. He is a down-to-earth man who talks to people and doesn't talk at them. He is representative of the views of many Black Country people.'

Docker added that Hastilow was right to endorse Powell's view that Britain has been transformed by immigration. 'It is a feeling that is held by many Black Country people, certainly ones I speak to. There is no denying that immigration has had a great effect on the way services are run in this country.'

She insisted that this did not make her or Hastilow racists. 'The difficulty is that if people have views about immigration it is immediately deemed as being racist. That is not the situation. People are entitled to have their opinions about things that have an integral effect on their lives.' But some of Hastilow's language may be regarded as controversial. He opens his article with the story of 'a granny' who has had to house her single-parent daughter and two young children because all council housing has been taken by immigrants.

He goes on to say people are too afraid to discuss the issue after Powell's removal from the shadow cabinet by Ted Heath. 'Immigration is the issue that dare not speak its name. Yet everywhere you go, you hear the same story. There are too many people competing for houses, benefits, public services and jobs.'

Observer

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, a Labour party spokesman says: "It's not unreasonable to be concerned about the impact of immigration.."

What progress indeed! From the bad old days of yesrteryear!

Soon we shall have Labour spokesman saying just a little bit more...in order to try to stop its core white working class vote draining away...and to keep their snouts in the trough.

Anonymous said...

There appears to be a very nasty sea change coming over the house of commons, individuals obviously feel that it is safe to make racist comments now either in the house or outside of it.

It doesnt matter which party there have been comments from all 3 which should make them hang their heads in shame.

I wonder where this is coming from, but more importantly i worry where it is leading to.

Anonymous said...

I fear that this will be taken as "Cameron" sack’s right wing nut case.

It would be very nice if this was so, unfortunately this is not the case.

Nigel Hastilow has previous form for supporting, as an official Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, fascist views as PPC for Birmingham Edgbaston in 2001 – Nigel the Nasty, a former Journalist and Editor of the Birmingham Post was then very happy to praise the views of the extreme right and was neither excluded from the Conservative Party, or removed as a Parliamentary Candidate.

If you read the original post there is no one word of regret for his support of the Nutzies, from Hastilow, or his Constituency officials in Halesowen, or indeed from the Cameron appointed Officials in the Conservative Party.

As we have seen before on many occasions Nigel the Nasty, and others of his ilk, will surface again in the Conservative Party.

There can only be one clear indication that the Conservative party is determined to purge the Nutzie wing of their party.

This involves the public expulsion of Hastilov, and his backers on the executive of Halesowen Conservative Association, from the Conservative Party.

But I am not holding my breath ! After all there can be no doubt that Ashcroft and others were/are aware of what was going on.

Cameron is happy to lie to the public to try and give the impression that he does not support the extreme right. Yet Cameron is also happy to allow the Nutzie elemement to rant and rage unless they are stupid enough to go very public, which has happened here with Hastilow at Halesowen. Yup your local Nutzies, running the Halesowen Conservative Association – And we wonder why the BNP Vote is falling in the West Midlands.

At least Griffin has some honesty.

Anonymous said...

It's sickening that Enoch Powell supporters are coming out of the closet in the Tory party, but it's just in time for the public to realise that Cameron's party (although Cameron seems decent enough) is a wolf in sheep's clothing that is stooping low to appeal to hardcore BNP supporters.

Dishonest politicians will do or say anything to win votes, including the far right vote...

How long before we have a Conservative MP denying the Holocaust happened, or describing slavery as "okay"???

Anonymous said...

oh shut up moaning, you know he was right.