The Liberal Democrats, in both Houses of Parliament, are committed to changing the current immigration rules and criteria that are unfairly prejudiced against Gurkhas who retired from the British Army before 1997. We feel very strongly about addressing the inequality of the current Gurkha immigration policy, which is why we used one of our debating slots to highlight the issue of Gurkha settlement on 29th April.
The Liberal Democrats believe that Gurkhas who were prepared to fight and die for this country should have the right to live here. They should be treated in the same way as their foreign and Commonwealth counterparts, who have a right to indefinite leave to remain after four years of service in the armed forces.
Under the Government’s new provisions, announced in April in response to Mr Justice Blake’s judgement that present policy was unlawful, Gurkhas who retired before 1997 and want to live here have to serve for five times as long as Commonwealth soldiers or Gurkhas who retired from service after 1997. This 20 year service rule effectively excludes most private soldiers, who normally serve for 15 years. This inequality is, in our view, unjust and intolerable.
The Government suggested that approximately 4,000 Gurkha soldiers would benefit from their new policy, leaving 10,000 in total once dependents are included. Lawyers working with the campaign believe that a much smaller number would be able to benefit, possibly even as few as 100. The Government has said that if all Gurkhas, including those who were discharged before 1997, wanted to come to the UK the total would reach 100,000 including their dependents.
This is fanciful. It is like estimating the potential migration from the rest of the European Union as the entire population, because every EU citizen can work anywhere in the EU. It takes no account of the high living standards enjoyed by most discharged Gurkhas in Nepal and hence the attractiveness of staying in their country. In fact, just 1350 Gurkha soldiers who retired before 1997 have lodged appeals to be allowed to stay in the UK. The figures released by the Government on the number of Gurkhas they expect to settle in the UK and the potential cost are highly dubious. Channel 4 News fact check gave the Government’s estimates a rating of 4, one below the rating for ‘the claim has no basis in fact.’
But the numbers are surely secondary. The Gurkhas have made an unconditional commitment to our nation, and we cannot repay that extraordinary service, bravery and dedication with a penny-pinching attitude. This is an issue about our own values as a people, as much as it is about the Gurkhas.
Wonderfully, we managed to defeat the Government by a vote of 267 to 246, the first success for any opposition motion for more than thirty years and only the third Government defeat in the Commons since 1997. It was a moment of great pride and elation, as it seems the Gurkhas will finally receive the respect they deserve.