Edinburgh Conservative Group says nobody is surprised by where the Greens and SNP stand on immigration — the real story is that the Liberal Democrats supplied the votes needed to get the motion through
A Green Party motion to pass a Council position stopping action supporting illegal immigration enforcement was passed at Thursday’s Full Council only after the Liberal Democrats struck a deal with the Greens, who accepted part of a Lib Dem amendment in order to secure their support. The SNP group also backed the motion.
Labour’s administration moved a position of no action, which the Conservative Group supported.
Without Liberal Democrat votes, the motion would not have passed.
Cllr Iain Whyte, Leader of the Edinburgh Conservative Group, said: “Nobody is surprised that the Greens and the SNP voted the way they did on this — everybody knows where they stand on immigration, with an open-borders approach that is completely out of step with public opinion.
“What will shock people is that it was the Liberal Democrats who made this happen. Faced with a motion to stop Council action supporting enforcement against illegal working, trafficking and modern slavery, they didn’t block it — they negotiated with the Greens to help pass it.
“Most migration raids target illegal working, a crime that harms the vulnerable people caught up in it, from exploitative practices through to human trafficking and modern slavery, often run by serious organised crime groups.
“This week a retired senior police firearms commander wrote to me describing a single joint operation that had targeted over 50 business premises across Scotland, involving criminals with access to firearms and links to people trafficking. That is the reality the Liberal Democrats have chosen to make harder to tackle.
“Labour, to their credit, found the resolve at the last minute to back their own UK Government’s policy and support our call for no action. The Liberal Democrats did not. They have shown themselves willing to row in with the Greens on this issue, and voters in Edinburgh will draw their own conclusions.”
The Conservative Group is calling on the Liberal Democrats to explain why they chose to help pass the motion rather than back a straightforward no-action position, and will press for any policy brought back to Council to preserve enforcement against illegal working, trafficking, exploitation and organised people smuggling.
Despite the SNP having the biggest number of councillors, The City of Edinburgh Council is currently led by Labour through support by the Lib Dems (who hold more seats than Labour) and the Conservatives. A wee family spat in the run up to next week’s by-elections, maybe? – Ed.
