I warmly welcome the Prime Minister’s speech on immigration last week.
It was time he took the lead on Britain’s open borders and I disagree strongly with those who called it racist .
It is not racist to question an open door policy, which has created space in this - the most tolerant of nations - for extremists.
Those extremists are the real racists and they are fuelled by the very real concerns of those who find themselves competing for jobs, schools and housing with immigrants.
Vince Cable is simply wrong when he says raising the subject is unwise.
On the contrary, it is not wise to suppress discussion of a topic which engages the British voter like no other.
Closing down the debate simply fans the flames of frustration.
As the admirable Labour minister Frank Field has said, for too long the immigration debate in Britain has been controlled by a Liberal elite.
He says Mr Cameron is on the right track.
And I agree. Things cannot go on as they are.
Just look at the woeful welfare system unlimited migration has spawned.
We pay our citizens not to work, while migrants fill gaps in the labour market.
An astonishing 80% of new jobs created during the Labour years went to migrants.
Even the Labour leader now admits they got it wrong.
Sadly, there is currently little we can do about workers from the EU. But that too needs to be changed.
But we must set a sensible limit for other migrants and as the Prime Minister has said, that should be in the tens, not hundreds, of thousands.
It’s time for action, now.
I have spent the last few weeks canvassing for the local elections and the AV referendum.
It’s worth noting that voters are unmoved by the thought of changing our voting system.
But an AV referendum was the price the Conservatives paid for Lib Dem support in forming a government.
Unlike AV, reducing immigration is not a Coalition priority.
But I can assure the Government that it is number one on the doorsteps of Britain.