The Heart of the Matter

The European Commission of Human Rights was set up after the Second World War in response to its atrocities. Surely, therefore, the last thing it should do is facilitate people from outside Europe to take up permanent residence in Europe. Instead it should support a complaint to prevent that from happening. In 1977 (10 June) I complained to the ECHR that the UK allows foreign and Commonwealth men to live in the UK through marriage even though I (and other British men) cannot live in their countries through marriage. I wrote (26 August): "the 1971 Census revealed that in Great Britain there were 1,660,690 unmarried men in their 20s as compared with 973,425 unmarried women in their 20s. This shows there was a surplus of 687,265 single men in that age group." The ECHR wouldn't investigate my complaint on the grounds I had not been the victim of a Government decision. The Government's official figure at that time for the number of men allowed to live in the UK through marriage was about 10,000 a year. About a dozen years ago I read in the Press the number was over 15,000 a year.

Rights #Trump Democracy

In 1977 I read in the Press that the Conservatives' policy to stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK wouldn't succeed because there would be an appeal to the European Commission of Human Rights. So on 10 June I complained to the ECHR that foreign men could live in the UK through marriage even though I (and other British men) couldn't live in their countries through marriage. The ECHR's response was that I hadn't been the victim of a Government decision. So I put my complaint to the Equal Opportunities Commission, which I knew was campaigning vigorously against the Tory policy. The EOC response was that my complaint was "outside our ambit". So I complained to the ECHR about the EOC. The ECHR's response was that I should challenge the EOC in the UK courts. To this end I sought Legal Aid. But the Law Society denied me the requisite Green Certificate (though I was getting Legal Aid for the divorce I was going through at the time). On 12 May 1982 the ECHR determined in favour of 3 women whose husbands weren't allowed to live in the UK. This was part of a process, while British servicemen were fighting for "British sovereign territory", the Falklands, that has enabled some 300,000 men to live in these islands! On 7 July 1983 the House of Lords determined that the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act did not apply to immigration control Therefore the EOC spent public money illegally.

Power to Judges (not Parliament)!

In 1979 the Conservative manifesto promised to end the concession by which foreign men can use marriage to live in the UK. But Mrs. Thatcher's Government didn't keep its promise despite having a large majority. Therefore it's up to the judiciary to end this concession. It's clearly unjust that foreign men can deprive Britons of work and promotion through finding someone to marry. Moreover, the Equal Opportunities Commission led a vigorous campaign to defeat the Tories' policy. But the House of Lords determined on 7 July 1983 that the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act didn't apply to immigration control. Therefore the EOC spent public money illegally. Either British men can live in other countries through marriage or they can't. If they can then people in such a transnational marriage are privileged compared to couples in other marriages, because they have the great choice of being able to live in 2 countries. If British men cannot live in their countries then it is clearly unequal that foreign husbands can live in the UK.

Power to Parliament (not Judges)!

The Conservatives' election manifesto in 1979 promised to end the concession whereby foreign men can use marriage in order to live in the UK. But Mrs. Thatcher's Government didn't keep its promise. This issue was challenged in the European Commission of Human Rights which decided in favour of 3 women whose husbands weren't allowed to live in the UK. ("The Times" 29 May 1985, page 1.) The UK has many immigration lawyers and many immigration cases are decided in courts and not by immigration officials. Now 3 judges in the High Court have controversially determined that triggering Article 50 to enable the UK leave the European Union should be a matter for Parliament and not the Government. In 1914 and 1939 Britain declared war on Germany (I'm sorry to say - please see this blog, 3 September 2016). There was no parliamentary vote in either case and no judges to say there should be! Strange that judges determine power resides in Parliament when they themselves override it! How have judges acquired these powers? And who pays them?

"Some (foreign) Students may be Genuine" !

"100,000 foreign students now crowding the capital...clearly push up property prices. While some students may be genuine, for many London is a fun finishing school, with the added attraction of a student visa and possibly never having to leave." Simon Jenkins, "London Evening Standard", 1 November 2016, page 14. I agree with foreigners who say the British have only themselves to blame. My epetition "Stop foreign men using marriage to live in the UK" at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129594 is running out of time. It has 695 signatures. I'm grateful to those who signed, particularly the women. But it is far short of the 10,000 needed to make any difference.

Newfies

The Battle of Agincourt,near Calais 601 years ago today, was fought because King Henry V invaded France in order to unite England. The country was divided because his father had usurped the throne. Henry V's success so stirred up the French that England then lost territories in France she had held for hundreds of years. All were lost except Calais which the French took in 1558. The loss of France led to bitter civil war - the Wars of the Roses. Henry V was born in Monmouth. Welsh archers won Agincourt. He married a French princess in Paris, who, in Shakespeare, accuses him of not liking France. On the contrary, he responds, he likes France so much he wants all of it. After his death his queen marries a Welsh courtier. Their progeny resulted in a Welsh dynasty - the Tudors. Henry Tudor, King Henry VII on winning the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, looked further afield now that France had been lost. He sent an expedition to Newfoundland.... (The rest is history.)

Vicious Inequality

On BBC Radio 4 on Sunday a feminist coined the phrase "vicious inequality". Back in 1965 Labour had a slim majority. The Conservatives agreed to the Race Relations Act provided the Government reduced immigration. Immigration marches on relentlessly.... The Act incorporates the word "nationality". This means that foreigners can use the law to deprive Britons of work and promotion. That's a vicious inequality if ever there was one. Also in 1965 President Johnson relaxed the US's strict immigration laws. The current political debacle in the US can be partly attributed to this.