Despite Michael Howard’s incessant attacks on immigration – ‘tough on foreigers, tough on the causes of foreigners – his whole policy is rapidly beginning to unravel around him.

Howard wants to take only UN-approved refugees from UNHCR – UNHCR have refused to point blank to cooperate with such a policy, especially as it would result in Britain walking away from the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees and Asylum Seekers and put us, globally, in the same category as Saudi Arabia, Libya and Noth Korea.

Howard wants limits on economic migration – the CBI, no less, doesn’t.

Howard says that Parliament would decide on the exact numbers of migrants to be allowed under his policy of immigration quotas, which as should be obvious is a completely disingenous statement worthy only of the most mendicant of ambulance-chasing lawyers – Parliament would have its say, but only by voting on quotas put to it by a Tory government and backed up by a full three line whip and guillotined debate to force the proposals through.

So, to ask a question I would have liked Paxo to ask last night, if Howard is so keen for Parliament to decide on quotas for immigration will he back up that statement by giving a commitment that should he come to power, the decision on quotas would be put to free vote in the Commons?

No, I don’t think he’ll buy that at all.

Footnote:

One of my all-time favourite films is the 1950′s version of Tenessee William’s classic play ‘Cat on Hot Tin Roof’ which features, amongst many other delights and excellent performances not least of which was Elizabeth Taylor in her prime, a bravura performance from Burl Ives int he role of ‘Big Daddy’.

I mention this because, of late, seeing Michael Howard at work’ invariably calls to mind the sight of Ives waxing loud and lyrical on the subject of ‘the smell of mendacity’ – the stench of which is perhaps the defining characteristic of the Tory’s entire campaign.