LONDON (Reuters): Britain’s opposition Conservative Party vowed on Jan. 24 to cap numbers of immigrants and asylum seekers, hoisting the sensitive issue of migration to the top of the election agenda ahead of an expected May vote.

After failing to dent Tony Blair’s opinion poll lead with a pledge of tax cuts, the Conservatives took aim at what it called a “chaotic and unfair” system that had brought an unprecedented rise in immigration, stretching public services. But critics labeled the Conservatives’ plans racist, dangerous for genuine asylum seekers and unworkable.

“It’s not racist, as some people claim, to talk about controlling immigration ––– far from it. It is plain common sense,” said Conservative leader Michael Howard. “I think most people would agree that Britain has reached a turning point ... Taken together, our proposals will lead to a substantial reduction in the number of people settling in the U.K,” added Howard, himself the son of immigrants.

The Tory announcement, trailed in a full-page newspaper advertisement on Jan. 23, was designed to wrongfoot Blair, who will announce his immigration plans in coming weeks. Opinion polls show Blair’s Labour Party is poised to win the election but voter surveys suggest immigration will be a decisive issue, with many Britons concerned about overstretched public services and abuses of benefit payment schemes.

The Conservatives said they would introduce annual limits on immigrants and asylum seekers, an Australian-style points system for work permits and 24-hour security at ports. It promised to withdraw from the 1951 United Nations Convention on refugees, which obliges countries to accept people being persecuted on the basis of need, not numbers.

Blair dismissed Howard’s plans as unfeasible but recognized immigration was a prime concern among voters.

“I think there are abuses of the system, but the important thing is to deal with them sensibly,” he told the BBC. “The real problem with the Conservatives’ proposals is that they are simply unworkable,” he said.

Refugee organizations said the Conservatives’ plans to cap asylum numbers could put the lives of genuine refugees at risk.

The opposition Liberal Democrats accused the Conservatives of lurching to the right to get out of a political rut. A Sunday Times/ITV poll this weekend, carried out by YouGov, put Labour on 34 percent, the Conservatives 31 percent and the Liberal Democrats 25 percent.