Should_Nigel_Hastilow_Have_Been_Sacked_from_the_Conservative_Party

Tory MP Nigel Hastilow recently reported in the Wolverhampton Express and Star that Enoch Powell had been right to assert that mass migration has dramatically changed the society we live in. Following the publication of his article Hastilow was summoned to the Conservative Party headquarters. After a meeting with the party chairman Nigel Hastilow announced that he was stepping down as the Tory candidate for Halesowen and Rowley. Enoch Powell was sacked from the Conservative shadow cabinet in 1968 following a speech he made on immigration. This speech which was referred to as ‘The Rivers of Blood speech’ caused controversy at the time and resulted in Powell being labelled as a racist. Although some feel that the content of the speech was not meant to be racist it was just a miscalculated attempt by Powell to increase his profile and popularity. It could be argued that Nigel Hastilow’s article has undermined David Cameron’s (the Tory party leader) hard work to improve the party’s image. Days before the article was published David Cameron had been praised by the Chairman of Equality and Human rights on his recent speech on immigration. Stating that he had taken great steps to deracialise immigration and treat it like a political and economic matter as it should. Fellow party members have said that his comments were insensitive and inflammatory and that he should have exercised caution in the language he used on the issue. The Labour party have said that Nigel Hastilow’s comments have exposed the racial underbelly of the conservative party which is an image the conservatives do not want to be associated with. Following Hastilow’s resignation the UK Independence party (UKIP) released a statement supporting him saying that he was only expressing the views of millions. He had not said immigration should be stopped but that it should be controlled. He had made a mistake referring to Enoch Powell which caught the attention of the media who then branded him a racist. Nigel Hastilow has said that he was only relaying the views of his constituents which is what every politician should do. He could not ignore issues that had been raised to him whilst campaigning. Other members of the Conservative party feel that Nigel Hastilow was right to resign as his views are not in line with party policy. This is not the first time he has brought negative attention to the Conservative party. He has a reputation for being outspoken and has previously been quoted in the House of Commons by the former Prime Minister Tony Blair when he said the Tory party was a lost cause under the leadership of William Hague. In my opinion Nigel Hastilow should not have been sacked from the Conservative party. He wanted to bring attention to an issue which concerns many in the United Kingdom. However if he had wanted to raise the issue of immigration he should have done it in a reasonable way using moderate language. He could have brought the debate into the public arena without referring to Enoch Powell’s speech.