What now for UK immigration policy?
As discussions continue between the political parties following last week's election results, the Conservatives have stated very clearly that - among other priorities such as the economy - immigration or "protecting borders" as they would rather have it, is not a bargaining chip on the negotiating table between them and the Liberal Democrats.
Results in the May 2010 elections demonstrate no real appetite among the British public for further restrictions on immigration control. UKIP and the racist BNP- two parties with immigration restrictions at the top of their agenda - fared extremely badly. Nigel Farage in Buckingham came third behind the Speaker and an independent supported by Flipper the Dolphin. Nick Griffin was routed by the Labour candidate, Margaret Hodge, and trailed in third in Barking and Dagenham. Share of vote for each of these parties was down across the country.
So what do the Tories propose? Their manifesto pledges a cap on non-EEA immigration, extended English language testing and integration measures, and more restricions on overseas students. Apart from the cap - a proposal many see as difficult to implement, particularly in light of the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights in UK law - they are saying little different from the Labour government of the last 13 years.
Whether a minority or coalition government emerges in the coming days, it is to be hoped that Liberal Democrat influence will go some way to limiting legislation in an area which saw almost an Act a year under Labour. The points based system for managed migration, while producing significant unfairness through inflexible rules, is at least capable of fine tuning in order to respond to changing needs of the labour market, without the government having to enact a new law whenever it perceives a problem.