Are we citizens of the United Kingdom or the European Union? The report published today by the think tank Open Europe makes recommendations so luminously sensible that one wonders why they have never – apparently – been suggested before. Here is the obvious answer to the question: how can we make the UK less of an irresistible haven for the populations of the poorest EU member states? The study rightly points out that it is not benefit scrounging which is the motivation behind all those migrants who mob Calais and flood into Victoria Coach Station from the East. These are people genuinely seeking work, and for the most part they take on the low-paid jobs which the indigenous population will not accept. And there lies the problem: low paid employment in the UK is subsidised by generous tax credits which make up the difference between subsistence level earnings and what is considered to be an acceptable wage. It is these in-work benefits that are the chief attraction for foreign labour. Combined with automatic entitlement to housing benefit and free health care, the package is almost irresistible. So clearly the answer should be to refuse such entitlements to incomers until they have lived in the country for some statutory period – say two years – and have established some sort of permanent residency. What could be more reasonable? Except that under present EU law, such a solution is illegal. Under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty (and now the UK Equalities Act of 2010) all EU citizens must be treated the same as native-born citizens in any member country. That is the real force of the freedom of movement of labour principle. If a UK citizen has an immediate right to all in-work benefits and to treatment free at the point of use by the NHS, then so must any EU citizen who resides here. Anything else is unlawful discrimination. So here is the nub of it. If all EU member states must regard any citizen of any other member state as an instant fully-fledged citizen of its own, that is tantamount to saying that the EU is now effectively one country. There isnt just free movement between states: there is effectively no distinction between the citizenship of one state and another. This is the clear interpretation which the EU courts and Commission are putting on the principle of free movement of labour, and it is one which they insist that we uphold. Surely, it is the most fundamental question to be asked about the existential nature of the European Union. There must be controls on Migration and Immigration and our border controls must be improved. The only way to do this is to leave the EU. To fight for British Freedom; why not become part of the fastest growing movement for 100 years... Let us fix our broken Britain... Vote UKIP get UKIP Vote UKIP for integrity and honest Politics - The Campaign is ON to build a better democracy – Vote UKIP – the Peoples Party – Bringing common sense back into Politics! Interested or new to UKIP - to find out what UKIP can offer you please click this link now: - ukip.org/?recruiter_id=5486
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 21:56:44 +0000
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