Here's a comparison between past and present immigration into Britain:

What is so striking when comparing then and now is the difference in the mentalite of the British state. The Conservative government which passed the 1905 Act did not hesitate to protect British interests. It also had very clear ideas as to what constituted an 'undesirable' immigrant. Although only 30 per cent of adults had the vote at that time, the Balfour government nevertheless responded to democratic pressure to restrict immigration.

In contrast, the Blair government seems to want to do everything it can to erode British national identity, for which there can be no more potent solvent than mass immigration. Rather than try to ascertain exactly what is going on, how much it is all costing and what can be done to stop it, as a royal commission would have done, it pretends that nothing is wrong and denounces as a racist anyone who suggests otherwise. For such an egalitarian, non-judgmental government, the idea that anyone could be an 'undesirable' immigrant is elitist nonsense...