UK Immigration News

UK political commentators were surprised that there was no mention of a new immigration bill in the Queen's Speech on 4th June. Prime Minister David Cameron was rumoured to be preparing a new bill only two weeks earlier but, when the queen made her speech, there was no mention of the bill.

In the wake of the local and European elections held in the UK on 22nd May, after some disappointing results, the UK's opposition Labour Party has a rethink of its future immigration policy.

Labour is the main opposition party in the UK and wanted to win the elections to show that it was on course to win the UK's national elections in May 2015. In fact, the anti-immigration, anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) won the greatest number of seats in the elections pushing Labour into second place.

The prime minister of the UK, David Cameron, is said to be preparing to introduce new immigration legislation to help combat the electoral challenge presented by the UK Independence Party (UKIP).

Mr Cameron is said to be considering legislation to limit immigration from eastern Europe.

The former UK prime minister Sir John Major has told the BBC that his successor David Cameron has a good chance of persuading other EU countries that reform of the EU's free movement of labour rules is necessary.

Sir John, who was the Conservative prime minister between 1992 and 1997, said that the success of anti-EU parties across the continent should persuade EU politicians that change is necessary.

The former Labour Prime Minister of the UK, Tony Blair, has warned the current Labour leader, Ed Miliband that he must not change Labour's immigration policy in order to try to fight off the electoral threat posed by the UK Independence Party (UKIP).

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's breakfast programme Today, Mr Blair said that UKIP was 'nasty and unpleasant' and warned that attempting to change tack to win votes back from UKIP would 'confuse its own supporters'.

The latest UK immigration figures show that there has been no change in the net immigration figure which remains at 212,000 for the year to December 2013. This is over twice the government's target level.

The figures were released by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday 22nd May 2014, the same day as the elections for the European Parliament are taking place in the UK. They will take place throughout the EU between 22nd and 24th May. The figures were thought likely to give a small boost to the anti-immigration UK Independence Party.