Many of us will have Scottish or Welsh blood in our veins. Others trace our ancestry to the West Indies or Pakistan, though we ourselves are English. In Leeds, we have one of the larger Jewish populations in the country, and our city has benefited immensely from their contribution.

Yet, frequently in recent years, there have been expressions of fear over the role of immigrants to our country, and they have surfaced
again with the recent declaration of the cross-party Group on Balanced Migration. This calls for political parties to declare, in the run-up to the General Election, how they will restrict immigration. One of the signatories has described Britain as "our claustrophobic island".

Living in Yorkshire, with its famed broad acres, may be why I simply do not recognise that description. Our cities are much less crowded than they were a century ago. We do have space to live – and to welcome others to share the qualities of our country.

Unusually, perhaps, I am English through and through, and, indeed, have no knowledge of personal ancestors from outside England. Yet I want there to be a culture of hospitality and welcome to this great country.

We already have a rigorous system to check immigration numbers and many are turned away every year. For some, that is not enough. There are three basic groups of immigrants. Some come because of job
opportunities and are known as economic migrants. The NHS, for example, has benefited from them for many years, and could not provide its quality of service without them. Many corner shops, so basic to our community life, depend on them. In recent years many of these have come from Eastern Europe and have contributed to new industries, such as those technologically-based.

Then there are student migrants, who come to gain from our incomparable higher education provision and who enhance the lives of our colleges and universities.

Leeds is a multi-cultural student city. It benefits economically as a result, and, equally importantly, we gain from each others' insights and friendships. Churches, too, have experienced teachers and ministers from other parts of the world. As a world-wide faith, we have learned from each other and contributed to each other.

Recent changes to immigration law threatened this free sharing of experience. For the most part, that threat has been overcome. We need to ensure that there is academic and religious freedom for those from different countries to move freely through our world. Harsher
immigration laws could well prevent that.

Thirdly, there are asylum seekers. It is too difficult to obtain asylum now in this country if you are fleeing from persecution elsewhere. Agencies such as the Leeds Asylum Seekers Support Network will tell of those returned in desperate fear to the countries from which they have fled.

Currently, there is a fear that Constant Moussavou may have been executed on return to the Congo from Leicester (Church of England Newspaper: January 15).

If he has been killed, he is not alone. The Manuel Bravo Charity in Leeds provides legal advice for those who are failed by our legal system as they present their case to remain in this country. It is named after Manuel, who committed suicide rather than be returned to the country of his birth – and in order to ensure that his son was able to be given a life in England. We underestimate that fear at our peril – and at the physical peril of asylum seekers.

As a nation, we have prided ourselves on being tolerant and welcoming. Yet today there is fear, and it is exploited by far-right groups such as the BNP.

I do not want a still tougher immigration régime. What I do want are practical policies to benefit all those in most need in our society. This would include positive plans for affordable housing. This would help many who are unable to get on housing lists in urban and rural areas.

I look for much more positive plans to create jobs, rather than simply blaming unemployment on the recession. Plans for saving money must not simply put more people
out of work.

I look, too, to policies to deal with that personal debt which creates so much fear – and profits no-one but loan sharks. Banking
responsibility is crucial here.

So I urge questions to politicians in the build-up to the General Election to be about tackling issues of housing, employment and debt, not about curbing immigration still further. It is those policies which will create a fairer, more equal and more welcoming society for all of us.

John Packer is the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds