One of the defining characteristics of Britain’s disastrous Blair years has been the way in which in so, so, so many areas, it is impossible to decide whether the Labour government policies are staggeringly incompetent or deliberately malign.

There’s no better example of this than in the field of immigration. Under Blair, Britain has quite simply lost control of its borders. Quite rightly, the Conservatives are making this an issue in the upcoming election (the UK votes on May 5th). Handled correctly, this is an issue that may well resonate with the electorate, and that’s why the inaccurately-named Independent is trying to conjure up a Tory split over immigration.

Read the article, and see what you think, but it is striking that the dissident Conservatives chosen to comment are a clown (Michael Portillo, who is, good riddance, finally stepping down as an MP) and a loser (Steve Norris) on the left of the party. We also learn that the boss if the Confederation of British Industry is concerned by Howard’s stance, but as his only interest lies in supporting the immigration of helot labour, it should, like the corporate cronyism that underpins President Bush’s laughable immigration initiatives, be ignored.