Various 1

Posted by: Will Rhodes

Britain is quite full – and to live here you must do this…

“Prove you are an active citizen!”

No seriously – you have to prove it.

Who is the author of this cripplingly stupid idea? Jackqui Smith! As if you didn’t guess.

All this is, of course to put people off coming to Britain – what she doesn’t realise is her being Home Secretary is plenty reason enough. Yet, what we have to do is look at this in the real light that it is meant – it is meant to appease the very people that Hazel Blears criticised – white working-class people. Blears said, in not so many words, that working-class people, who happened to be white, were racist and listened to the BNP too much.

This is a target group that Labour have to win over before they general election this year – this is, as you well know, electioneering – or at least a pull of the polls and tabloid headlines.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith’s proposals to overhaul how a migrant becomes a UK citizen are being published later ahead of going before Parliament.

And the big theme is that migrants will need to take extra steps to “earn” citizenship and become fully paid-up members of society.

And how will the migrant do this?

In future, they will need to spend the next six to eight years proving their worth to the UK as part of a personal journey and contract with British society.

At present, an immigrant living in the UK can apply for permanent settlement after about five years.

But that can often be the end of the process – there is no compulsion to take the final step towards becoming a British citizen.

Under the new system, ministers say migrants – excluding those from the European Economic Area – will pass through three clear stages.

At first they will be classed as temporary residents – the status they receive as a worker, relative or recognised refugee.

After five years they will be given an entirely new status for a minimum of another 12 months – probationary citizen.

This probationary status will ultimately lead to someone becoming a British citizen or permanent foreign resident – or being told it’s time to move on.

Shall I tell you where the real problem people in the towns and cities have with migrants – or can you guess? And, after all that – if the government still don’t want you after taking all that hard earned cash in fees – they can tell you to feck off!

Quite a nice lady is Jackqui Smith.