Cameron’s immigration policy under fire at Davos

Guardian News and Media/London

Using a set-piece speech to put the case for re-shoring jobs to the UK from overseas, the prime minster also set himself on a collision course with environmental protesters by outlining the importance of developing shale gas in the UK.

A member of the audience in Davos describing herself as a Swedish MEP was applauded as she asked for her British counterparts to be more co-operative in the European parliament and questioned Cameron about Britain’s restrictions on immigrants to the UK.

Cameron said he made “absolutely no apology” for changes to the British benefits system. “The right to move in Europe and apply for jobs in other European countries is an important freedom in the Europe Union (but) it is right to move to go and work and not a right to go and claim benefits,” he said.

The premier pointed to the flow of 1.5mn people into the UK when eight new members joined the EU in 2004 “the largest migratory movement in recent British history”.

Cameron is trying to avoid a row with his own MPs by preparing to make changes to the law to make it difficult for future governments to allow unlimited migration from future EU member states.

Since the start of 2014, new migrant jobseekers from the EU have had to wait three months before they receive jobseeker’s allowance.

The focus of his speech was that Britain was open for business, setting out the case for secure energy policy, the UK court system and freedom of the media.

He urged the EU to avoid “burdensome unjustified and premature” regulations on fracking after the controversy caused by French oil firm Total investing in exploiting shale gas in the UK. It is banned from such activities in France. Cheap and affordable energy would encourage re-shoring, he said, as he set out the benefits of shale gas to the US.

“There is no doubt that when it comes to re-shoring in the US, one of the most important factors has been the development of shale gas, which is flooring US energy prices, with billions of dollars of energy cost-savings predicted over the next decade,” said Cameron. “If this is done properly shale gas can have lower emissions than normal gas,” he said in an attempt to head off criticism that the fracking process can be harmful to the environment and local living conditions.