ABSTRACT
In this brief analysis, I will seek to develop a series of propositions about the relationship between immigration and political parties that derive from the vast literature on both parties and immigration. I will argue that political parties have been a driving force in the development of immigration policy in Europe, but that there are specific dynamics that apply to parties of the centre-right. Although it is often argued that immigration has an impact on political parties and party competition, it is not — as Anthony Messina has argued — ‘an independent variable floating above the political process’ (Messina 2007: 55). Indeed, it is through the agency of political parties that the issues of immigration are often politicized (Schain et al. 2002: intro.).
