A Question of Original Sin

Back in 1961, Laborites savagely denounced the Conservative government for its introduction of the Commonwealth Immigrants Bill, designed to stem the flood of coloreds into Britain. Sir Eric Fletcher called it a "blot on our statute book." Denis Healey angrily echoed the words of the Times: "The bill strikes at the roots of Britain's traditional liberal attitude towards immigration, at the preservation of good Commonwealth relations, and at the belief that Britain is without original sin in the matter of color discrimination." Healey's pledge: Labor would repeal the act if it came back to power.

In London last week, Prime Minister Harold Wilson's Labor government showed what a difference a few years--and the assumption of power and responsibility--make. Labor published a White Paper proposing new cutbacks on immigration from Commonwealth countries. Under the new measures, only 8,500 work vouchers will be issued annually, and they will go only to immigrants with special skills--doctors, teachers, graduates in science and technology. Shelved indefinitely would be the applications of some 300,000 persons on the immigration waiting list.

Conservative M.P.s did not gloat over Labor's abrupt and embarrassing turnabout. Colored residents in Britain num ber less than 1% of the population, and it is apparently the intent of both parties to keep it that way. In noting the absence of debate on the White Paper, the Times argued that many M.P.s "may feel privately that public feeling on racial questions has now reached the point at which it might be a preponderant, if not decisive, issue at the next election." To hold on to political power, Labor seems to have concluded that its hot words of the past are best forgotten.

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