The problem now is that the Government won't want to lose face by climbing down?
I'm prepared to bet that nothing much will change to let the Gurkhas in to the UK, regardless of today's vote?
Below is a reply I received from George Osborne (my MP) on the subject:
Malc
___________________________________
Thank you for contacting me about British residency and citizenship for Gurkhas and their dependants.
We want to be fair to the Gurkhas in contrast to the Government’s approach and its response to the recent High Court ruling which, in our opinion, has not been. We have already said that we would introduce a limit on visas allowed generally under the Points-Based System, to ensure that those who come here benefit British society. We believe that former Gurkhas, and other veterans who are not UK nationals, have already contributed to our society, and have therefore earned the presumption that they should be allowed to come here.
A Conservative Government would establish the presumption that pre-1997 Gurkhas should be allowed to settle in the UK if that is their wish. To enable this to happen within the terms of our proposed immigration policy, we would create a new tier within the Points-Based System, which each year would allow a specified number of visas for non-UK ex-servicemen. We will conduct research to see how much demand there is for such visas.
This policy would be fair to our veterans, particularly the Gurkhas, consistent with our proposals for a controlled immigration policy, and affordable within the welfare budget.
We are concerned that the Government has failed to plan for the numbers expected to move to the UK over the next few years. Any significant migration has an effect on public services and infrastructure and this tends to be concentrated in particular areas. This is why our properly controlled system will not only enable the UK to be fair to its former Gurkhas but will enable the public finances to cope and local authorities to plan service provision properly.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to write to me.
Best wishes
George Osborne MP