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§ Mr. Tony Marlow (Northampton, North)I beg to ask leave to move the adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 20, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
The Government's intention to give settlement rights to between 150,000 and 200,000 Hong Kong Chinese as set out in yesterday's Observer."It is a massive number of people, which is sufficient to populate a town the size of Northampton. It is an urgent matter, for in the past whenever Governments have given commitments, Parliament has been unable to uncommit. Therefore, it is vital that the views of our people are clearly made known before any decision is taken, particularly as immigration policy is driven initially by the needs of foreign policy rather than the desires of our citizens. Perhaps it is easier to confront the censored censure of the electorate once every four years than the hypocritical hostility of less-worthy Governments on a daily basis.We need to debate whether the figure of 200,000 is for primary immigration alone and what are the future rights of unknown quantities of potential dependants. Will individual decisions be based on administrative discretion or will a panoply of rights and appeal procedures be attached? In all these cases the initial figures could be massively exceeded.
Vast areas of our inner cities have already been colonised by alien peoples with little commitment to our country or our way of life. The recent reactions to Salman Rushdie should make that plain even to the Opposition. Should we not urgently debate the extent to which our multicultural experiment has succeeded before deciding whether it is prudent to extend it?
676 There may be little blood flowing in the Tiber yet, but all the most likely scenarios are filled with great foreboding. Ulster could be but a skirmish compared with the holocaust that could follow. Surely it would be a massive error further to aggravate the delicate balance of our society—[Interruption.) Surely that is something which we know our people in their good sense do not want. We must listen to them.—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Gentleman has as much right as anyone else in the House to make his speech.
§ Mr. MarlowIt is easy to sign the cheque today, knowing that the bill will become payable much later. It is easy, but it is cowardly and irresponsible. We need an urgent debate.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member for Northampton, North (Mr. Marlow) seeks leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 20, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he believes should have urgent consideration, namely,
the Government's intention to give settlement rights to 150,000 to 200,000 Hong Kong Chinese as set out in yesterday's Observer."As the House knows, under Standing Order No. 20 I have to announce my decision without giving my reasons to the House.I have listened with care to what the hon. Member has said. I have to decide whether his application comes within the Standing Order, and, if so, whether I should give it precedence over the business set down for today or tomorrow. I regret that the matter that he has raised does not meet the requirements of the Standing Order, and. I cannot, therefore, submit his application to the House.
§ Mr. SpeakerNo. I have a further application under Standing Order No. 20.