'Grant all illegal immigrants an amnesty to stay in Britain': Tory MP calls for 'seismic' change in policy to attract minority vote



Nadhim Zahawi says amnesty makes political and economic sense

'We shouldn't be afraid to think outside our comfort zone,' he says

Tories won just 16 per cent of non-white vote at 2010 election



New direction: Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi believes the all illegal immigrants should be given an amnesty to remain in the country

All illegal immigrants in Britain should be granted an amnesty to stay in the country, a Tory MP has said.



Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-Upon-Avon, argued that the move makes sense economically and that a 'seismic' shift in policy is needed for the Conservatives to attract votes among minority groups.

But it would represent a major switch in political direction for the party.



Earlier this week Chancellor George Osborne announced that immigrants who claim benefits will have to learn English or see their handouts docked.

Mr Zahawi told The Independent: 'We shouldn't be afraid to think outside our comfort zone. Our failure to appeal to ethnic minorities should send loud alarm bells ringing in Downing Street and Central Office.

'Unless we act now this electoral penalty will only get worse.'

The Tories won just 16 per cent of the non-white vote at the election in 2010.

Lord Ashcroft is among those who has told David Cameron he must do more to woo the ethnic vote.

He recently released details of a poll showing that ethnic minority voters share the Tory creed that ‘if you work hard, it is possible to be very successful in Britain’.



But when asked which party shares their values, they opt for Labour by a margin of more than two to one.

The offer of an amnesty to illegal immigrants was a manifesto pledge of the Lib Dems at the last election but was dramatically ditched by leader Nick Clegg earlier this year.

He said the policy risked undermining public confidence in the entire immigration system.

Conflict: London Mayor Boris Johnson, left, is a long-term supporter of an amnesty for illegal immigrants but Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, right, recently ditched his party's support for the policy

The Deputy Prime Minister instead unveiled new plans to force foreigners arriving in Britain from ‘high risk countries’ to pay a bond of more than £1,000 which will only be repaid when they leave.

However, the London Mayor Boris Johnson has been a long-term supporter of an amnesty for an estimated half a million immigrants in the UK.

Mr Johnson claims an amnesty would help the economy and the Treasury by allowing huge numbers of illegal immigrants to work openly and to pay tax and national insurance - a position supported by some union bosses and church leaders.

A study commissioned by Mr Johnson from the London School of Economics estimates there are 618,000 illegal immigrants in the UK, of which 442,000 - almost three quarters - live in the capital.

But other senior Tories have said that such an offer would send out a message to immigrants that it is possible to enter the country illegally and stay forever.