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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/jun/01/eu-referendum-live-vote-leave-remain-immigration
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| EU referendum live: Vote Leave plans points system and mandatory English for migrants | EU referendum live: Vote Leave plans points system and mandatory English for migrants |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 7.43am BST | |
| 07:43 | |
| For the second day in a row – Tuesday’s policy announcement was cutting VAT on fuel bills – Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are trumpeting post-Brexit changes that aren’t actually, technically, given their current government roles, their call. | |
| Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are developing an alternative policy platform for a post-Brexit Britain without asking the PM in plain sight. | |
| It’s a view several readers are sharing in the comments below: | |
| I didn't realise vote leave were an elected government of the UK. They are not as far as I know, therefore who cares what they plan ? Even if we do leave, which I hope we do, I will not be voting for people like IDS, gove, lawson, farage in a UK general election. The only thing I have with any of these people is we all want to leave the EU, for very different reasons I imagine. | |
| How can Vote Leave plan policy? All they are is a campaign group for a NO vote in a referendum. Yet they act like they're in a general election, throwing policy promises around. Absoutely disgraceful. | |
| 7.35am BST | |
| 07:35 | |
| As reported in Tuesday’s live blog – bonus points for regular readers – hedge funds and investment banks are commissioning private exit polls for 23 June in order to speculate on sterling before the result of the referendum is officially known. | |
| Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson says David Cameron should intervene: | |
| Information about a historic vote that will shape the future of our continent should be made available to everyone at the same time, not shared among a privileged few whose only motive is to gain financially by attempting to predict the outcome. | |
| I hope the government will put measures in place to prohibit this avaricious plan by financiers to benefit from information that belongs to every voter. | |
| Related: Tom Watson: ban hedge funds from cashing in on EU referendum | |
| 7.32am BST | |
| 07:32 | |
| What does it all mean? I’m not sure any two-minute video could quite get to the bottom of this philosophical Brexit question, but it does have a good stab at explaining the ins and outs of the in or out vote to non-Brits (and to non-non-Brits too). | |
| 7.19am BST | |
| 07:19 | |
| How does Australia's points system work? | |
| Helen Davidson | |
| Australia’s points-based migration system, suggested in the past by Ukip and now by the Brexit campaigners, is another arm of the country’s infamous border control measures. | |
| Skilled migrants made up about 68% of the 190,000 places in Australia’s 2014-2015 migration programme, which is separate from the humanitarian programme. | |
| The migration programme controls the variety and numbers of workers moving to the country, and according to the department of immigration is “specifically designed to target migrants who have skills or outstanding abilities that will contribute to the Australian economy” and to fill labour shortages. | |
| A range of Australian skilled visas require a points-based assessment for migrants to live and work in the country as a permanent resident. | |
| Applicants must be under 50 years of age, although no points are given for those aged 45-49. An applicant aged between 25 and 32 has half the required 60 points already. | |
| They must have at least competent English, but only proficient or superior English will gain any points. | |
| The rest of the points needed to round out the 60 are based on minimum qualifications and employment histories – gained in Australia or overseas – or other factors including tertiary education and if your partner also fulfils requirements. | |
| Someone can also gain points if they have previously worked in Australia or studied in a regional area or a metropolitan area with low population growth. | |
| For some visa subclasses, sponsorship by an employer or family member, or nomination by a government is required. | |
| If an applicant is not employer-sponsored the job must be on an approved occupation list, each with a cap on the number accepted. For the 2015-16 intake, Australia has already approved all the 1,000 available visas for auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers; the 1,788 industrial, mechanical and production engineers; and 1,000 other engineering professionals. | |
| But if you are a (non-primary) school teacher, a vet or a cartographer, there are still thousands of places left. | |
| 6.56am BST | 6.56am BST |
| 06:56 | 06:56 |
| Morning briefing | Morning briefing |
| Claire Phipps | Claire Phipps |
| Good morning and welcome to the second day of the Guardian’s daily EU referendum coverage. | Good morning and welcome to the second day of the Guardian’s daily EU referendum coverage. |
| I’ll be launching the morning briefing to set you up for the day ahead and steering the live blog each morning until Andrew Sparrow takes his seat. Do come and chat in the comments below or find me on Twitter @Claire_Phipps. | I’ll be launching the morning briefing to set you up for the day ahead and steering the live blog each morning until Andrew Sparrow takes his seat. Do come and chat in the comments below or find me on Twitter @Claire_Phipps. |
| The big picture | The big picture |
| Today sees Boris Johnson and Michael Gove for the first time setting out together on the Vote Leave battle bus. They’re heading to Preston and my colleague Rowena Mason is too: you can track her/their progress @rowenamason. | Today sees Boris Johnson and Michael Gove for the first time setting out together on the Vote Leave battle bus. They’re heading to Preston and my colleague Rowena Mason is too: you can track her/their progress @rowenamason. |
| To mark the occasion, the Leave campaign has lobbed another immigration story into the morning papers: this one a pledge that after Brexit, European would-be migrants to the UK would be subject to “a genuine Australian-style points based immigration system” and be required to “have the ability to speak good English”. | To mark the occasion, the Leave campaign has lobbed another immigration story into the morning papers: this one a pledge that after Brexit, European would-be migrants to the UK would be subject to “a genuine Australian-style points based immigration system” and be required to “have the ability to speak good English”. |
| This, Johnson, Gove and co-author Priti Patel say, would level the playing field for EU citizens and those seeking to come to the UK from Commonwealth countries. There would be a couple of key exceptions: Irish citizens would still be able to travel freely into the UK, and EU citizens already in the country would be granted indefinite leave. | This, Johnson, Gove and co-author Priti Patel say, would level the playing field for EU citizens and those seeking to come to the UK from Commonwealth countries. There would be a couple of key exceptions: Irish citizens would still be able to travel freely into the UK, and EU citizens already in the country would be granted indefinite leave. |
| In an interview with the Guardian, fellow Leave fan Chris Grayling said controlling immigration was key to enabling young people to afford to buy a home: | In an interview with the Guardian, fellow Leave fan Chris Grayling said controlling immigration was key to enabling young people to afford to buy a home: |
| If we are bringing a population the size of Newcastle upon Tyne into the country every single year, if we cannot set limits on the number of people that come and work in Britain, then simple maths says it is going to be even more difficult to get on to the housing ladder. | If we are bringing a population the size of Newcastle upon Tyne into the country every single year, if we cannot set limits on the number of people that come and work in Britain, then simple maths says it is going to be even more difficult to get on to the housing ladder. |
| Nigel Farage – who’ll be on the Ukip battle bus today, which is not the same as the Vote Leave battle bus because sometimes you just need your own bus – said he was “pleased that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove now support [the] same policy I’ve advocated for years”. | Nigel Farage – who’ll be on the Ukip battle bus today, which is not the same as the Vote Leave battle bus because sometimes you just need your own bus – said he was “pleased that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove now support [the] same policy I’ve advocated for years”. |
| But Will Straw, the executive director of Britain Stronger In Europe, insisted the plan would not work, saying Vote Leave was reading from the “Farage playbook”: | But Will Straw, the executive director of Britain Stronger In Europe, insisted the plan would not work, saying Vote Leave was reading from the “Farage playbook”: |
| Australia, who have a points based immigration system, have twice as many migrants per head as the UK. Economic experts are agreed that leaving the single market would lead to recession – costing jobs and raising prices. | Australia, who have a points based immigration system, have twice as many migrants per head as the UK. Economic experts are agreed that leaving the single market would lead to recession – costing jobs and raising prices. |
| On which note, the TUC has labelled Brexit a “disaster” that would cost British workers their employment rights – and £38 a week. General secretary Frances O’Grady said: | On which note, the TUC has labelled Brexit a “disaster” that would cost British workers their employment rights – and £38 a week. General secretary Frances O’Grady said: |
| £38 a week may not be much for politicians like Boris Johnson – a man who described his £250,000 fee for a weekly newspaper column as ‘chicken feed’. But for millions of workers, it’s the difference between heating or eating, between struggling or saving, and between getting by or getting on. | £38 a week may not be much for politicians like Boris Johnson – a man who described his £250,000 fee for a weekly newspaper column as ‘chicken feed’. But for millions of workers, it’s the difference between heating or eating, between struggling or saving, and between getting by or getting on. |
| O’Grady said those campaigning for Britain to leave the EU were “phonies” who did not understand the challenges faced by workers: | O’Grady said those campaigning for Britain to leave the EU were “phonies” who did not understand the challenges faced by workers: |
| It’s a bit like Iain Duncan Smith pretending to be the friend of the poor, when everyone knows he was the minister for food banks … Has Priti Patel ever struggled to pay the gas bill? I doubt it. | It’s a bit like Iain Duncan Smith pretending to be the friend of the poor, when everyone knows he was the minister for food banks … Has Priti Patel ever struggled to pay the gas bill? I doubt it. |
| You should also know: | You should also know: |
| Poll position | Poll position |
| Tuesday’s Guardian/ICM poll showing voters split 52%-48% in favour of Brexit is still reverberating this morning, including on the i front page. | Tuesday’s Guardian/ICM poll showing voters split 52%-48% in favour of Brexit is still reverberating this morning, including on the i front page. |
| As ICM’s director Martin Boon put it: | As ICM’s director Martin Boon put it: |
| It is only one poll but, in a rather unexpected reverse of polling assumptions so far, both our phone poll and our online poll are consistent on both vote intentions and on the EU referendum. | It is only one poll but, in a rather unexpected reverse of polling assumptions so far, both our phone poll and our online poll are consistent on both vote intentions and on the EU referendum. |
| Voters in Scotland were still more likely to vote for Remain. | Voters in Scotland were still more likely to vote for Remain. |
| An Ipsos Mori poll of 4,000 people finds 56% believe investment in the UK from the EU will fall if Britain votes Leave, but 58% think their own standard of living will not be affected in the event of Brexit – a finding the Telegraph reports as “a blow to the assembled forces of Project Fear”. | An Ipsos Mori poll of 4,000 people finds 56% believe investment in the UK from the EU will fall if Britain votes Leave, but 58% think their own standard of living will not be affected in the event of Brexit – a finding the Telegraph reports as “a blow to the assembled forces of Project Fear”. |
| Diary | Diary |
| Talking point | Talking point |
| Jeremy Corbyn: The Outsider, a 30-minute fly-on-the-wall documentary by Vice News, lands this morning amid reports that advisers had “tense discussions” over the decision to allow the film crew to follow him for several weeks. | Jeremy Corbyn: The Outsider, a 30-minute fly-on-the-wall documentary by Vice News, lands this morning amid reports that advisers had “tense discussions” over the decision to allow the film crew to follow him for several weeks. |
| In the film, according to a report in the Telegraph, Corbyn’s strategy chief Seumas Milne claims the Labour leader’s attack lines for PMQs are regularly leaked: | In the film, according to a report in the Telegraph, Corbyn’s strategy chief Seumas Milne claims the Labour leader’s attack lines for PMQs are regularly leaked: |
| It is very annoying because it only happens about a third of the time but it obviously gives them [the government] a little bit of extra time. | It is very annoying because it only happens about a third of the time but it obviously gives them [the government] a little bit of extra time. |
| Whenever there is a leak it gives them that advantage. It gives them the advantage on TV as well. | Whenever there is a leak it gives them that advantage. It gives them the advantage on TV as well. |
| Read these | Read these |
| Daniel Finkelstein in the Times (paywall) argues that the lessons of the second world war form a strong argument to stay within the EU: | Daniel Finkelstein in the Times (paywall) argues that the lessons of the second world war form a strong argument to stay within the EU: |
| Boris Johnson and David Cameron have both been attacked for raising questions of war and peace in this campaign, as if nothing could be more hyperbolic and absurd. Yet debating Hitler and armed conflict in Europe could not be more apposite. To believe that the peace we have now in Europe is something we can rely on is incredibly complacent … | Boris Johnson and David Cameron have both been attacked for raising questions of war and peace in this campaign, as if nothing could be more hyperbolic and absurd. Yet debating Hitler and armed conflict in Europe could not be more apposite. To believe that the peace we have now in Europe is something we can rely on is incredibly complacent … |
| To have bound so many warring and scarred states into one strong alliance is a huge achievement. That these countries now share a close legal relationship is a better guarantee of safety than we have ever had. | To have bound so many warring and scarred states into one strong alliance is a huge achievement. That these countries now share a close legal relationship is a better guarantee of safety than we have ever had. |
| Priti Patel, writing in the Sun, expands on the Leave campaign’s plan for a points-based immigration scheme: | Priti Patel, writing in the Sun, expands on the Leave campaign’s plan for a points-based immigration scheme: |
| The automatic right of all EU citizens to come to live, work and claim many benefits in the UK would end. We would choose who we allow into the country on the basis of their skills – without discrimination on the ground of nationality … | The automatic right of all EU citizens to come to live, work and claim many benefits in the UK would end. We would choose who we allow into the country on the basis of their skills – without discrimination on the ground of nationality … |
| It would replace the current system, where anyone who lives in the EU – even if they have a criminal record – has the right to come to Britain. | It would replace the current system, where anyone who lives in the EU – even if they have a criminal record – has the right to come to Britain. |
| That may not matter much to the corporate executives in the City, and it certainly doesn’t impact on the foreign politicians and big businessmen who seek to lecture us on how to vote. But it matters to the British people. | That may not matter much to the corporate executives in the City, and it certainly doesn’t impact on the foreign politicians and big businessmen who seek to lecture us on how to vote. But it matters to the British people. |
| Baffling claim of the day | Baffling claim of the day |
| Leave.EU’s breathless tweet that the group “is excited to have learned about BPop Live, a concert organised by Brexit Live on 19 June!” It’s as if they hadn’t heard the kerfuffle about headliners 5ive and Alesha Dixon withdrawing from the event … or prominently endorsed the event on the BPop Live website. Still, Ritchie Neville or no Ritchie Neville, the site entices browsers to buy a ticket by providing zero information on who will be appearing. | Leave.EU’s breathless tweet that the group “is excited to have learned about BPop Live, a concert organised by Brexit Live on 19 June!” It’s as if they hadn’t heard the kerfuffle about headliners 5ive and Alesha Dixon withdrawing from the event … or prominently endorsed the event on the BPop Live website. Still, Ritchie Neville or no Ritchie Neville, the site entices browsers to buy a ticket by providing zero information on who will be appearing. |
| Celebrity endorsement of the day | Celebrity endorsement of the day |
| YouGov – which apparently has too much time on its hands – asked its voting panel to judge which of 30 fictional characters would back Brexit and which would remain with Remain. The resounding result was that Geraldine Granger, the Vicar of Dibley, would be most stridently pro-EU, with The Royle Family’s Jim Royle the most enthusiastic Brexiter. | YouGov – which apparently has too much time on its hands – asked its voting panel to judge which of 30 fictional characters would back Brexit and which would remain with Remain. The resounding result was that Geraldine Granger, the Vicar of Dibley, would be most stridently pro-EU, with The Royle Family’s Jim Royle the most enthusiastic Brexiter. |
| Bob the Builder, the panel concluded, would not yet have made his mind up. Anyone would think he hadn’t seen the latest UK construction figures. | Bob the Builder, the panel concluded, would not yet have made his mind up. Anyone would think he hadn’t seen the latest UK construction figures. |
| The day in a tweet | The day in a tweet |
| Man tries to burn EU flag, can't burn it because of EU directive on flammable materials pic.twitter.com/PkxicDABXC | Man tries to burn EU flag, can't burn it because of EU directive on flammable materials pic.twitter.com/PkxicDABXC |
| If today were a defunct game show slogan ... | If today were a defunct game show slogan ... |
| It would be “What do points make? Prizes!” Where the prize is a post-EU UK visa. Or you could play on for the nice family hatchback. | It would be “What do points make? Prizes!” Where the prize is a post-EU UK visa. Or you could play on for the nice family hatchback. |
| And another thing | And another thing |
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| Related: EU referendum morning briefing - sign up here | Related: EU referendum morning briefing - sign up here |