Conservative Baroness Sayeeda Warsi is no shrinking violet.  Having lost against her Labour rival, Shahid Malik in Dewsberry, Baroness Warsi played an active role serving as Vice Chairman of the party.

Her recent ennoblement caused some mutterings from within the party about her “suitability”.  The Baroness has been in the headlines recently for suggesting that the people who vote for the BNP might have “some very legitimate views” in an interview to The Independent on Sunday that raised more than a few eyebrows.  She added that "lack of control" over immigration was making people feel "uneasy".  Why would a woman of Asian descent side with BNP voters?

Immigration has always been an emotive topic for obvious reasons.  It has been the key issue for the right and in the case of the far-right their sole issue.  The far right has long played on fears of “swamping” and hatred of foreigners to gain political advantage.  The mainstream right has also engaged, at times, in less than salubrious tactics the so called “dog whistle” is a tactic where a politician makes an ostensible innocent remark but if you read between the lines his remarks can be interpreted by his target audience as something less innocent.

Could Barnoess Warsi’s remarks be targeted at the right of her party?  Could the timing be more curious coming on the eve of her party conference?  Was this a dog whistle?

There are two theories circulating about the interview.  Firstly the less credible theory was the Baroness was “talking out of turn” in an unauthorised interview and will suffer the political backlash from both outside and inside the party.  It would indicate a clumsiness unfitting that of the office held by the Baroness.

The second more interesting theory is the dog whistle.  Could it be that the Baroness, an Asian woman, was asked by someone in the Tory high command to make the remarks to calm the restless activists on the right of the party?  It’s true that David Cameron has been busy repositioning the Tories to the right of where they’ve been recently and the furore caused by such remarks would be somewhat reduced by the fact that Baroness is not white.

There is of course some truth in the fact that some people vote for the BNP out of fear that nothing is being done to control immigration.  Coupled with the fact that people mix the issues of economic migration, asylum.  When recent EU expansion is factored in a potent myth can be constructed and then whipped up by the far-right:  the UK is a tiny island and immigrants are swamping our land largely living on state benefits and to add insult to injury, receiving priority in terms of housing, schooling and other benefits over the indigenous white Britons.

It is also true that the government does not keep reliable statistics on entry or exit.  Present day border controls are ineffective and criminal gangs make huge profits by trafficking the poor into a life of miserable servitude.  Gang Masters and economic slavery are realities in 21st century Britain.  It is also true that Britain needs a young workforce to alleviate skills shortages and to relieve the burden on state pensions.

A rational debate should be conducted about the issues surrounding immigration and honesty on both sides of the argument.  Baroness Warsi puts to bed the myth of the meek Muslim woman but she should be a little more discerning before endorsing the very people who now try to paint Muslims as an unpatriotic fifth column.