Omläggning av politiken i Storbritannien

Få har väl missat premiärminister David Camerons tal om en misslyckad mångkulturell politik. Talet anknyter till den diskussion om assimilation och mångkulturalism som bl.a. förs på Newsmill och i dagstidningar. Den rapport av Andreas Johansson Heinö, Integration eller assimilation? En utvärdering av svensk integrationsdebatt, som startade debatten finns nu också på engelska. Få av inläggen tar dock upp vad den omsvängning som Cameron talar om betyder i praktisk politik. Några av dem är:

* Det ställs allt högre krav på kunskaper i engelska för att få invandra, en politik som påbörjades av den förra labour-regeringen.

The prime minister told the Commons: "The last government did make some progress on making sure people learnt English when they came to our country, I think we need to go further.

"If you look at the figures for the number of people who are brought over as husbands and wives, particularly from the Indian sub-continent, we should be putting in place - and we will be putting in place - tougher rules to make sure they do learn English and so when they come, if they come, they can be more integrated into our country."

* Det kommer, enligt Migrationsminister Damian Green, att bli svårare för invandrare att stanna permanent i landet.

Damian Green, the immigration minister, ... announce plans to review every settlement route amid concerns it is too easy for immigrants to stay indefinitely.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he signalled new arrivals could be stopped, once here, from switching on to visas that pave the way for them to earn a British passport.

Mr Green also warned that widespread abuse of the student visa system is damaging the UK's reputation and likened bogus colleges to something "unpleasant that has crawled out from under a stone".

Uppdatering 8 februari:

Nu verkar det dessutom som att reglerna för arbetskraftsinvandring förskjuts ytterligare i riktning mot högt utbildade. I Storbritannien finns en lista på vilka yrken och jobb som är öppna för arbetskraftsinvandring.

The list of jobs open to workers from outside the EU will be cut by more than a third under recommendations published by the Home Office's immigration advisers yesterday.

The proposals are part of Government plans to raise the threshold for skilled worker visas to "graduate level" jobs, meaning only posts requiring that level of education or equivalent training will be open to migrants.

Professor David Metcalf, Mac chairman, said: "Skilled foreign workers make a valuable contribution to the British economy but, in the context of limits on migration, it is essential that the immigration system is designed to select those migrants we need the most.

"We have recognised this by ensuring our recommendations will allow the most skilled to continue to come and work here."

Damian Green, the immigration minister said: "This is a valuable contribution to ensuring that the immigration system allows firms to bring in people with necessary skills without immigration becoming the first resort to fill a wide range of available jobs.