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| Labour hints at shift on EU free movement policy | Labour hints at shift on EU free movement policy |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has suggested Labour may be interested in restricting free movement within the European Union for workers who do not have the firm offer of a job. | Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has suggested Labour may be interested in restricting free movement within the European Union for workers who do not have the firm offer of a job. |
| Speaking on BBC One's Question Time, Mr Umunna did not elaborate on the idea, but said he was already discussing it with "partners" from other countries. | Speaking on BBC One's Question Time, Mr Umunna did not elaborate on the idea, but said he was already discussing it with "partners" from other countries. |
| It comes after restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians working in the UK were eased on 1 January. | It comes after restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians working in the UK were eased on 1 January. |
| The move has seen a debate on controls. | The move has seen a debate on controls. |
| Meanwhile, a senior EU official accused British ministers of stoking fears about immigration. | Meanwhile, a senior EU official accused British ministers of stoking fears about immigration. |
| Viviane Reding, vice-president of the European Commission, said the figures showed it was a "myth" the UK was being invaded by foreigners, and suggested the rhetoric was designed to draw attention away from the real problems the UK was facing. | Viviane Reding, vice-president of the European Commission, said the figures showed it was a "myth" the UK was being invaded by foreigners, and suggested the rhetoric was designed to draw attention away from the real problems the UK was facing. |
| 'More work' | 'More work' |
| When asked by Question Time presenter David Dimbleby what Labour had to say to those who wanted to see immigration cut, Mr Umunna said: "I think on low-skill immigration we believe there was too much of it from the European Union. | When asked by Question Time presenter David Dimbleby what Labour had to say to those who wanted to see immigration cut, Mr Umunna said: "I think on low-skill immigration we believe there was too much of it from the European Union. |
| "I think there is one important thing about the European Union, the founders of the European Union had in mind free movement of workers not free movement of jobseekers. And undoubtedly we do have to work with our European partners to deal with that." | "I think there is one important thing about the European Union, the founders of the European Union had in mind free movement of workers not free movement of jobseekers. And undoubtedly we do have to work with our European partners to deal with that." |
| He said he had "met with a number of them this week" and "they are very open to that [idea] if we constructively engage with them, instead of saying, 'Hey, do what we want otherwise we are going to walk off.'" | He said he had "met with a number of them this week" and "they are very open to that [idea] if we constructively engage with them, instead of saying, 'Hey, do what we want otherwise we are going to walk off.'" |
| He went on: "What people intended when they built the EU in the first instance was that people who either had a job or had the skills to get a job would move around the European Union. The problem that we've had at the moment is that we've had, during our time in office - and this is where we did make a mistake - you had high skilled people coming from other countries to do low skilled jobs here." | He went on: "What people intended when they built the EU in the first instance was that people who either had a job or had the skills to get a job would move around the European Union. The problem that we've had at the moment is that we've had, during our time in office - and this is where we did make a mistake - you had high skilled people coming from other countries to do low skilled jobs here." |
| Mr Umunna added that he was the son of an immigrant, and immigration had been good for the country. | Mr Umunna added that he was the son of an immigrant, and immigration had been good for the country. |
| "All people want is a system that is properly controlled and managed, and more work needs to be done on that," he told the programme, filmed in London on Thursday. | |
| Controls in place since 2007 expired on 1 January giving Bulgarian and Romanian citizens the same rights to work in the UK as other EU citizens. | Controls in place since 2007 expired on 1 January giving Bulgarian and Romanian citizens the same rights to work in the UK as other EU citizens. |
| The UK has not released forecasts on migrant numbers - but the government has said curbs on access to benefits will ensure new arrivals contribute to the economy. | The UK has not released forecasts on migrant numbers - but the government has said curbs on access to benefits will ensure new arrivals contribute to the economy. |
| A recent survey of public attitudes towards immigration suggested 77% of Britons want to see it cut. | A recent survey of public attitudes towards immigration suggested 77% of Britons want to see it cut. |
| 'Invasion myth' | |
| Meanwhile, Ms Reding, speaking in a webchat on European citizenship, said: "Coming back to the subjects which the government of the UK has pushed to the agenda probably in order not to make people speak about the real subjects on the UK, is this supposed invasion of foreigners coming to the UK and stealing the jobs and stealing the social security and health money. The facts and figures - and we all know this - show that it is simply not true." | |
| She said analysis had shown that, in general, migrants put more into the UK economy than they got out. | |
| "Those who take out of the social security are more the nationals - much more the nationals - than the European citizens who take advantage of the free movement," she said. | |
| "So it is just a myth to speak about an invasion." | |
| Conservative MP Mark Reckless said he was surprised by the comments. | |
| "I think the measures taken by the government have been quite moderate and actually I think it is some of these European politicians - Ms Reding, her colleague Mr [Laszlo] Andor (European employment commissioner), [and] the Polish prime minister and foreign minister, who seem to have been stoking this issue up," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. | |
| A UK government spokesman said: "Hard-working people expect and deserve a benefits system that is fair to British citizens and migrants who come here to work but is robust and tough on those who abuse the system and flout the law." |