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| David Cameron Toughens Stance on Immigration in Britain | David Cameron Toughens Stance on Immigration in Britain |
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| LONDON — With a general election in Britain five months away, Prime Minister David Cameron tried on Friday to sound tough on immigration without violating the European Union’s fundamental principle of freedom of movement within the bloc. | LONDON — With a general election in Britain five months away, Prime Minister David Cameron tried on Friday to sound tough on immigration without violating the European Union’s fundamental principle of freedom of movement within the bloc. |
| In a speech delivered in a factory in Staffordshire, in the English Midlands, Mr. Cameron moved to blunt intense criticism of his stance on immigration from anti-Europe legislators within his Conservative Party and from the anti-Europe, anti-immigration U.K. Independence Party. | In a speech delivered in a factory in Staffordshire, in the English Midlands, Mr. Cameron moved to blunt intense criticism of his stance on immigration from anti-Europe legislators within his Conservative Party and from the anti-Europe, anti-immigration U.K. Independence Party. |
| That party is attracting disaffected voters, including people who traditionally supported the Conservatives, in important constituencies that Mr. Cameron’s party will need to win if he is to remain in power after the May 7 election. | |
| Mr. Cameron, in trying to make Britain a less attractive place for European migrants to seek employment, said that he would try to exclude them for four years from social and welfare benefits introduced to help low-wage workers. But he did not propose a cap, or a quota, on the number of immigrants, as his European partners have said that that would be unacceptable. | |
| Critics in the Conservative Party and the U.K. Independence Party argue that the best way to control immigration from European Union countries is for Britain to leave the bloc altogether, which Mr. Cameron says he does not want. He has already promised that if he remains prime minister after the elections, he will negotiate a “new deal” for Britain with a skeptical European Union and then hold an in-or-out referendum on British membership in the bloc in 2017. | Critics in the Conservative Party and the U.K. Independence Party argue that the best way to control immigration from European Union countries is for Britain to leave the bloc altogether, which Mr. Cameron says he does not want. He has already promised that if he remains prime minister after the elections, he will negotiate a “new deal” for Britain with a skeptical European Union and then hold an in-or-out referendum on British membership in the bloc in 2017. |
| Mr. Cameron has tried not to set out too many specific commitments from his European counterparts, for if he does not succeed in securing them, he would be under increased pressure to push for a British exit from the bloc. | Mr. Cameron has tried not to set out too many specific commitments from his European counterparts, for if he does not succeed in securing them, he would be under increased pressure to push for a British exit from the bloc. |
| His critics like to remind voters that Mr. Cameron promised, in 2010, to get net migration down to “tens of thousands” a year. But no government can control all the variables of immigration, and to his embarrassment, British net immigration last year was 260,000, up from 182,000 the previous year. | His critics like to remind voters that Mr. Cameron promised, in 2010, to get net migration down to “tens of thousands” a year. But no government can control all the variables of immigration, and to his embarrassment, British net immigration last year was 260,000, up from 182,000 the previous year. |
| That is in large part because Britain has proved an attractive place for Europeans, particularly from Italy and Spain, to find employment while their home countries suffer from the effects of the financial crisis and from stagnant growth in the eurozone. The flexible British labor market has also drawn young people from newer members of the European Union, like Bulgaria, the Baltic countries and Romania. | That is in large part because Britain has proved an attractive place for Europeans, particularly from Italy and Spain, to find employment while their home countries suffer from the effects of the financial crisis and from stagnant growth in the eurozone. The flexible British labor market has also drawn young people from newer members of the European Union, like Bulgaria, the Baltic countries and Romania. |
| Mr. Cameron, having failed to convince his European counterparts of the need to alter the principle of freedom of movement within the bloc, or that Britain needs to pull an emergency brake on European Union migration, has decided instead to make Britain less attractive economically for immigrants seeking work. | Mr. Cameron, having failed to convince his European counterparts of the need to alter the principle of freedom of movement within the bloc, or that Britain needs to pull an emergency brake on European Union migration, has decided instead to make Britain less attractive economically for immigrants seeking work. |
| Britain is not especially generous in its social benefits, but it is easier for new immigrants to qualify for them than in most European countries. In his speech on Friday, Mr. Cameron said that if he were re-elected, he would move to stop migrants from the European Union from claiming welfare assistance, including social housing and child benefits, in their first four years in Britain. | Britain is not especially generous in its social benefits, but it is easier for new immigrants to qualify for them than in most European countries. In his speech on Friday, Mr. Cameron said that if he were re-elected, he would move to stop migrants from the European Union from claiming welfare assistance, including social housing and child benefits, in their first four years in Britain. |
| They should not, he said, be allowed to take advantage of government help for low-wage workers. He pledged to prevent immigrants from receiving child benefit payments if their children live outside Britain. Before they come to Britain, he said, they should have firm job offers, and if they do not find work within six months, they should leave. | They should not, he said, be allowed to take advantage of government help for low-wage workers. He pledged to prevent immigrants from receiving child benefit payments if their children live outside Britain. Before they come to Britain, he said, they should have firm job offers, and if they do not find work within six months, they should leave. |
| Citizens of any new member state of the European Union, he said, should not be allowed to work in Britain until the economies of their countries grow to become more similar to those of other members. Such measures would have to be negotiated with Britain’s European partners, however, and Mr. Cameron acknowledged on Friday that they would most likely require changes to treaties, which France and other countries are eager to avoid. | Citizens of any new member state of the European Union, he said, should not be allowed to work in Britain until the economies of their countries grow to become more similar to those of other members. Such measures would have to be negotiated with Britain’s European partners, however, and Mr. Cameron acknowledged on Friday that they would most likely require changes to treaties, which France and other countries are eager to avoid. |
| If there is no agreement in the European Union on the immigration issue, and if Britain enacts such changes unilaterally, the rules would most likely be challenged in the European Court of Justice and could be thrown out. | If there is no agreement in the European Union on the immigration issue, and if Britain enacts such changes unilaterally, the rules would most likely be challenged in the European Court of Justice and could be thrown out. |
| Mr. Cameron said that immigration was a divisive topic all over Europe, and that overhauls would be good for the bloc as a whole. “It is contributing to a corrosion of trust in the European Union, and the rise of populist parties,” he said. | Mr. Cameron said that immigration was a divisive topic all over Europe, and that overhauls would be good for the bloc as a whole. “It is contributing to a corrosion of trust in the European Union, and the rise of populist parties,” he said. |
| While negotiations would most likely be difficult, he said, “I say to our friends in Europe: ‘It’s time we talked about this properly. And a conversation cannot begin with the word no.' ” | While negotiations would most likely be difficult, he said, “I say to our friends in Europe: ‘It’s time we talked about this properly. And a conversation cannot begin with the word no.' ” |
| He promised once more to push for an overhaul of the European Union, saying that “this issue of free movement will be a key part of that negotiation.” If successful, he said — without defining success — he would campaign to keep Britain in the bloc. But “if our concerns fall on deaf ears and we cannot put our relationship with the E.U. on a better footing,” he warned, “then of course I rule nothing out.” | He promised once more to push for an overhaul of the European Union, saying that “this issue of free movement will be a key part of that negotiation.” If successful, he said — without defining success — he would campaign to keep Britain in the bloc. But “if our concerns fall on deaf ears and we cannot put our relationship with the E.U. on a better footing,” he warned, “then of course I rule nothing out.” |
| While some of Mr. Cameron’s critics in the Conservative Party have urged him to say that he would push for Britain to leave the European Union if negotiations failed, that is a step Mr. Cameron has not been willing to take so far. | While some of Mr. Cameron’s critics in the Conservative Party have urged him to say that he would push for Britain to leave the European Union if negotiations failed, that is a step Mr. Cameron has not been willing to take so far. |
| On Friday, he also praised immigrants, saying, “we are Great Britain because of immigration, not in spite of it.” As an island nation, Britain lives off trade and its “openness,” he said. In answering questions, he also acknowledged that more than half the number of net migrants coming to Britain were from outside the European Union. | |
| While the government can much more easily control immigration from outside the European Union, many arrivals from other regions are students who pay fees to British universities or are highly educated professionals whose talents are needed in the growing economy. Figures show that immigrants pay considerably more in taxes to Britain than they receive in benefits. | While the government can much more easily control immigration from outside the European Union, many arrivals from other regions are students who pay fees to British universities or are highly educated professionals whose talents are needed in the growing economy. Figures show that immigrants pay considerably more in taxes to Britain than they receive in benefits. |
| But what upsets many Britons is the large number of low-skilled migrants coming to take low-paying jobs that many Britons will not fill. The numbers, critics argue, are changing the face of the country, particularly in smaller towns with big factories or industries requiring low-skilled workers. | But what upsets many Britons is the large number of low-skilled migrants coming to take low-paying jobs that many Britons will not fill. The numbers, critics argue, are changing the face of the country, particularly in smaller towns with big factories or industries requiring low-skilled workers. |
| One recent controversy in Britain concerned a company that makes fresh sandwiches early every morning for big grocery chains like Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. The company, Greencore Group, was seeking Hungarians to come to Britain to work in its new facility because it could not find enough Britons willing to take such difficult, repetitive, low-paid jobs. | One recent controversy in Britain concerned a company that makes fresh sandwiches early every morning for big grocery chains like Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. The company, Greencore Group, was seeking Hungarians to come to Britain to work in its new facility because it could not find enough Britons willing to take such difficult, repetitive, low-paid jobs. |
| “Is there no one left in Britain who can make a sandwich?” asked the British newspaper The Daily Mail on its front page. That is the kind of question no politician can answer. | “Is there no one left in Britain who can make a sandwich?” asked the British newspaper The Daily Mail on its front page. That is the kind of question no politician can answer. |