More Idiot Posturing Over Immigration(Yay! more police..)

A new national police force...wonderful, where do I begin to shower my praises on the political genius of the Crosby era Conservative party. That the so called 'Liberal' Democrats actually thought up this idea before the Conservatives is even more disheartening. As a Libertarian Socialist the thought of ever more police with their accountability yet further removed from local communities is not a pleasant one. Yet another top down hierarchy created by political need rather than the actual needs of the country.

Also the general impression given by the term 'border police' is not a good one and in itself is a sop to the electorates darkest fears that the UK is 'besieged' by asylum seekers and immigrants. It creates and fosters fear of the 'other' and promotes a siege mentality neither of which are conducive to a rational nuanced debate on immigration and asylum seekers.

The Tories plan to roll together customs and excise, home office immigration staff and police working at ports and airports. In some senses they are catching a trick of the US Republicans who did a similar presentational job on a bureaucratic tidying up exercise to create their Department of Homeland Security. So this policy proposal is (potentially)workable but alas still a bad idea that any liberal, libertarian or socialist should oppose. Britain is already one of the most centralised countries in Europe this proposal would just make it worse.