As reported by BBC, the Conservative leader did not name specific figures, but emphasized that measures must be taken, as the recent growth in the flow of immigrants places an additional burden on society as a whole and, in particular, on the social security system. Earlier, Cameron delivered a speech in which he urged politicians to take into account the increase in the number of elderly and lonely people in the country.
Days ago, the National Statistics Office published a forecast according to which the population of Great Britain will increase by 4.4 million people by 2016, i.e., to 65 million, and by 2031 will be 71 million.
In his speech, David Cameron emphasized that London needs to develop a consistent strategy in the field of population. At the same time, he added that demographic changes are 'an inevitable part of modern life, and we better just get used to them.' Cameron stated that he does not want to 'burn bridges' and create obstacles for all immigrants, his goal is only to reduce the number of newcomers to a reasonable amount. 'We must admit: with an advanced, open economy, a high level of emigration and immigration cannot be avoided. However, the difference between the number of arrivals and departures is important, and in my opinion, it is currently too large,' concluded Cameron.
Labor migration from outside the European Union, he believes, should be limited through annual quotas. Residents of European countries that recently joined the EU — such as Romania and Bulgaria — should have limited access to the British labor market.
Cameron also promised, if he comes to power, to create a border police unit that would track down illegal migrants. In addition, he proposes to raise the minimum age for spouses arriving in Britain to 21, and also to introduce a requirement for them to know English.
In an interview with BBC, the Tory leader called the existing practice of linking immigration with asylum provision vicious. As part of the policy to reduce the number of economic migrants from outside the EU, he said, the priority should be to reduce the number of people receiving benefits.
The representative of the Labour government, Liam Byrne, who is in charge of migration issues, called Cameron's plans a smokescreen, since 80% of immigrants come to Britain from European Economic Area countries. 'If David Cameron wants a serious conversation on this topic, he should start by proposing concrete measures,' said Byrne. 'He talks about limiting the number of migrants, but does not say how he intends to do it.'
And Nick Clegg, a representative of the third most influential British party, the Liberal Democrats, said that Cameron insists on reducing the number of newcomers without having any idea how to do it.
Meanwhile, Habib Rahman from an organization defending migrants' rights believes that the Conservative leader is trying to explain a whole range of problems with the growth of migration: from housing shortages to overcrowded transport. 'If the Tories really intend to block the path of migrants from outside the EU, David Cameron needs to set specific goals for the party to combat social injustice and human rights violations worldwide,' said Rahman.
Influx of migrants exceeds number of new jobs
Since 2003, 620 thousand jobs and 740 thousand immigrants have appeared in Great Britain. This is according to new government data, as reported by The Daily Express. Thus, at least one migrant competes for each new job.
Over the past week, the Home Office had to recalculate twice the number of jobs created during Labour's tenure and the number of foreign workers who arrived. The new data is the result of a third recalculation.
The obtained statistics contradict the previously proclaimed slogan of Prime Minister Gordon Brown: 'British jobs for British workers.' On November 1, The Guardian wrote about the Conservatives' intention to set a quota on the number of foreigners entering the country. The government proposes to introduce its own system from January 2008, based not on a quota, but on applicants accumulating a certain number of points. The day before, a survey of municipal authorities revealed a heavy burden on medical institutions, schools, and the housing market, caused by mass migration.
As reported by Lenta.ru, in mid-October the British Council and the Brussels Migration Group published the result of a study on the friendliness of European powers towards newcomers. Sweden took first place, Latvia last. Great Britain is both among the five most friendly and the five most inhospitable countries.