Philip Webster (left), Times Political Editor, says that the Conservatives have stolen a march on Labour with their hardline immigration policy

"In choosing to focus on immigration, Michael Howard is very much aiming for the core Conservative vote.

"But the Tories are not the only people who care about immigration. It is also an issue for core Labour voters in many constituencies - and that's why the Tories are giving it such prominence and spending so much money on it.

"It's interesting, because in the last election the Conservatives obviously did badly, but one of the areas in where they managed to buck the trend, and win seats, was in those places where asylum was a big issue, such as in the Thames corridor.

"I think they regard immigration and asylum as one of their core policies and an area where the Government is vulnerable.

"And for two or three weeks the Tories will be alone in making the running on the issue, as the Goverment cannot come out with its own proposals until its five-year plan on immigration and asylum is due out next month.

"We know something about what Labour is going to say, and they are not going to be taking the same line as the Tories.

"Labour is not talking about putting an annual limit on asylum or immigration, for example. Charles Clarke showed the bones of his policy in his Times interview last week, which is to speed up removals, the removal of people stuck at Dover while their paperwork is being processed.

"He also told us that they would do deals with third countries, countries of origin, to stop people leaving those countries when they do not have the slightest chance of gaining asylum. Labour could not, however, pull out of the Refugee Convention.

"But that's the reason why Labour has been somewhat muted in its reaction - there's no doubt that Labour wants to be seen as firm on immigration and asylum, so it's slightly hamstrung in condemning Conservative proposals.

"The Tories have been ridiculed for their policy of sending people to a fantasy island somewhere, a huge overseas detention camp run by the Home Office, and that seems to have been quietly buried. But they are talking of putting them into secure places in other countries while the processes are being gone through.

"It's interesting because the Conservatives have been able to make the running on this issue, to steal a march on Labour in getting their policies out. Come the election, however, it will all be down to credibility."

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