Brexiteers Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Priti Patel vow to block low-skilled EU workers from coming to Britain
Their post-Brexit vision would rip up EU's free movement rules and enable ministers to get a grip on the immigration crisis
BRITAIN will block low-skilled EU workers from coming here by the 2020 Election under a Brexit - senior Tories Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Priti Patel vow.
Blasting their own Government’s “corrosive” failings on immigration, the trio promise that voting ‘Out’ will lead to the introduction of an Aussie-style points system at the border.
Under the current free movement rules there are no restrictions on people from the EU coming to live and work in Britain and the Brexiteers say this must change
The trio add that by taking back control from Brussels, Ministers will also be able to deport criminals and “terrorist sympathisers” when they want.
EU citizens already in the UK will be allowed to stay and there will be no change to the open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
The astonishing move marks the second concrete Brexit proposal that runs directly against current Government policy – following the call to scrap VAT on energy bills in yesterday’s Sun.
In an open letter also signed by Labour’s Gisela Stuart, the Tories say: “Migration brings many benefits to Britain.
“But if we are to welcome people to Britain then the public must be reassured that we have control over who comes here.”
And in an attack that will incense No.10 the Brexit-backing Tories insist the PM’s promise to cut net migration to 100,000 is “plainly not achievable” if Britain remains in the EU.
They say: “Voters were promised repeatedly at elections that net immigration could be cut to the tens of thousands.
“The failure to keep it is corrosive of public trust in politics.”
Disastrous official figures last week revealed net migration hit a whopping 333,000 in 2015 – more than three times the PM’s target. Net migration from the EU was 184,000 – almost equal to the population of Oxford.
At the time, the PM said sky-high migration was the price worth paying for keeping the benefits of the EU – and not “wrecking” the economy.
But writing for The Sun, Minister for Employment Priti Patel says uncontrolled immigration has put incredible pressure on Britain’s schools, hospitals, public transport and housing.
She adds: “Uncontrolled migration drives wages down, makes it harder for people to access good public services and puts pressure on housing.
“At the current rate of migration we would need a new home every four minutes, night and day, just to house new immigrants and their families.”
She says: “The truth is that we can do nothing about this for as long as we remain in the European Union.”