Cameron party vows immigration curbs

Reuters/LondonPrime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party yesterday promised new measures to curb immigration from the European Union after losing hundreds of seats in local polls.Reeling from last week’s local elections in which it lost more than 200 seats after the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) siphoned off some of its support, Conservative ministers said they would go all out to toughen immigration policy.“We will look at every avenue available to us to reduce net migration,” Philip Hammond, the Conservative defence minister, told Sky TV. “We’re looking at ways in which we can deal with people coming from the European Union who are not genuinely exercising their freedom of movement to work but are abusing that freedom of movement.”Further curbs could strain Cameron’s relations with some EU politicians who have complained about his rhetoric on immigration in the past, saying he is exaggerating the issue.However, public discontent about rising immigration, particularly from poor EU countries like Romania and Bulgaria, is one of the main factors driving support for UKIP, and Cameron’s party is anxious to win back disaffected voters before a national election next year.It cannot do exactly what it wants though as it is in a two-party coalition with the Liberal Democrat party which has blocked some of its proposed policies in the past.Data last week showed the number of EU citizens moving to Britain rose 27% in 2013, an awkward statistic for Cameron who has promised to reduce net migration to the “tens of thousands” by May next year, a target he is on course to miss.UKIP argues immigration is putting unacceptable strain on public services and changing communities’ identity. It plans to focus its efforts on trying to win around 20 seats in a national election next year and wants to seriously restrict immigration.