A former Archbishop of Canterbury said that new immigrants coming to the United Kingdom should have an understanding of the country’s Christian culture and heritage.
Lord Carey is among a group of MPs and peers warning that the population of the United Kingdom should not be allowed to go beyond 70 million to avoid causing ‘serious harm’ to society. The Parliamentary Cross-Party Group on Balanced Migration has called on the main political parties to make a General Election pledge to slash immigration in the country.
The group, which also includes Baroness Boothroyd, the former Speaker of the House of Commons, and Lord Jordan, former president of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union, wants manifesto commitments from Labour and the Conservatives to cut net migration to fewer than 40,000 a year – compared to the current rate of 163,000.
Lord Carey stressed that he was not calling for a ban on non-Christian immigrants settling in Britain, but warned that if concerns about the level and nature of immigration were not addressed, it simply would play into the hands of the far right British National Party. In his interview with BBC Radio 5 live Breakfast today, 6 January 2010, he said:
‘What I am concerned about is that we should give priority to those who are committed to our democratic values, to parliamentary democracy and understanding of our history. And certainly anyone who comes to our country must be committed to learn the English language. Those who really come from Christian nations, or formally Christian, may be regarded a priority.
‘I am saying that values matter, not beliefs,’ he added.
He suggested that the points-based immigration system could take these cultural aspects into consideration.
When asked, ‘So, because we want people with certain values, is it more likely that they will come from Christian countries?’, he said:
‘Exactly, that is the case’.
He said that a strong commitment to inclusion and welcoming a stranger in our midst is a Judeo-Christian idea, so ‘we welcome immigration and we welcome inclusion in our country.’
However, he suggested that if we follow the same line on immigration ‘our country will be in deep trouble', which will foster the social unrest, and we will end up with ghettos.
(Click here to listen to the Lord Carey’s interview)
He said he wants the United Kingdom to value Christian heritage and democratic standards and is worried about the idea that ‘if the population of this country reaches 70 million the country will become less Christian’.
Lord Carey went on saying that in order to best preserve the Christian heritage we need a tougher church.
‘We, Christians, are very often so soft and allow people to walk over us, and we are not as tough in expressing our beliefs because we do not want to upset other people.
‘We have to be more outspoken,’ he added.
In their declaration, the cross-party group warns:
‘We are convinced that failure to take action would be seriously damaging to the future harmony of our society. Nearly a million votes by our fellow citizens for an extremist party amount to a danger sign which must not be ignored.
‘For too long the major political parties have failed to address these issues and the intense, if largely private, concern that they generate throughout our country.
‘If politicians want to rebuild the public’s trust in the political system, they cannot continue to ignore this issue which matters so much to so many people. The time has come for action.’
Official estimates that the UK population will pass 70 million by 2025 were based on a forward projection of the 2007 net migration figure.
Lord Carey became Archbishop of Canterbury on 19 April 1991. He retired from the position on 31 October 2002 and was created a life peer as Baron Carey of Clifton, of Clifton in the City and County of Bristol, one month later. He is the recipient of some 12 Honorary Doctorates and author of 14 books.
(Click here to see the official website)