Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

David Cameron: I want one last go at renegotiating Britain’s relationship with Europe

Is David Cameron about to announce emergency controls on European jobseekers or a points-based system on EU migration? The Times and the Sun both splashed on these ideas today (after Coffee House first revealed Cameron had promised a ‘big bang’ policy to Tory MPs, then led some of them to believe that he could introduce an Australian-style points-based system), and the PM was confronted on both as he did his walkout in Rochester, where he is campaigning today for the by-election.

Funnily enough, the Prime Minister didn’t deny any of the reports – partly because it’s convenient to do so when trying to beat Ukip but also because this is all as a result of comments he himself has made. On the ’emergency brake’, he said:

‘We’ll be setting out all of our plans in due course. But we’ve already taken a lot of action, closing down bogus colleges, making sure people can’t come and access benefits immediately, making sure that we’re tougher on people that are here illegally and send them home. All of these changes are taking place and of course it’s one of the biggest issues in this election.’

And on the points-based system, he said:

‘We’re setting out our plans in due course. But inside the EU we’ve already said new countries that join the EU shouldn’t have automatic access to Britain, that’s important. we’ve said that it’s time to crack down on access to our benefits system, we’ve done that, and that is important. This is an important issue alongside the rest of our long-term economic plan that is delivering for people in Rochester and Strood.’

He has to set out what the Tories have already done lest Ukip accuse him of making up policies to try to fight their growing threat, but Cameron has not denied either story.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in