Non-EU migrants could find it harder to enter Britain under policies outlined in a pre-election manifesto drafted by the prime minister's Conservatives. The document is being published ahead of a June 8 snap election.
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British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday urged voters to "strengthen my hand" in Brexit talks, as she unveiled the Conservative manifesto. May reiterated that Britain would be leaving the European single market and the customs union and warned of "tricky battles" over the next two years as the country negotiates its departure from the EU.
"Every vote for me and my team will strengthen my hand in the negotiations to come," May said at the launch in Halifax in northern England, calling it "a manifesto to see us through Brexit and beyond."
"If we fail, the consequences for Britain and for the economic security of ordinary working people will be dire. If we succeed, the opportunities ahead of us are great," May said, as dozens of anti-austerity campaigners and trade unionists rallied outside.
"It is time to put the old tribal politics behind us and to come together in the national interest, united in our desire to make a success of Brexit," May said.
Coventry's Brexit woes
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Mainstream British media said on Wednesday that May would pitch immigration strictures and trim certain welfare benefits for pensioners when she unveiled her pledges later Thursday for Britain's snap June 8 election.
Employers seeking non-EU workers for skilled jobs would face a doubling of the so-called skills charge and migrant workers would be asked to pay more into the National Health Service, according to the BBC.
The extra revenue gathered would flow into skills training for British workers.
The skills charge sees companies fined when they employ migrants from outside the EU.
The BBC said May is also planning to implement a reduction of immigration from EU nations, once Britain has finalized its divorce from the bloc.
That amounted to the "end of freedom of movement, " a key tenet of open-borders Europe, said the BBC, quoting an unnamed source.
Addressing a G20 trade union meeting in Berlin on Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Britain that ending free movement of people "will have its price."
Merkel said London should not attempt to stipulate "there's a cap of 100,000 or 200,000 EU citizens, more aren't allowed into Britain - perhaps researchers as well, but no others, please."
Who's who in the UK snap election
UK Prime Minister May has called for a general election to take place on June 8, framing it as vote to counter the opposition's political road-blocking on Brexit. DW lays out the major players, parties and positions.
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May calls voters to the polls
On April 18, British Prime Minister Theresa May called for an early general election, bumping it up from 2020. British voters are set to cast their ballots for the House of Commons' 650 seats on June 8. Brexit will likely dominate the campaign agenda, with many perceiving the election as a vote on May's Brexit leadership.
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Reason to be happy
Though May had previously denied she would call for an early ballot, she argued snap elections were now necessary to counter the opposition's "political game-playing" on the UK's departure from the European Union (EU). For May, who took office after David Cameron resigned in the wake of the Brexit referendum, the vote marks her first attempt to secure a popular mandate.
Image: Reuters/N. Hall
Conservatives stand to profit
With the opposition at its weakest position in years, the early election will likely prove a major boon to the Tories, allowing them to comfortably expand their current 17-seat majority in the House of Commons. Overall, the Conservatives have backed May's leadership as she steers the UK towards a hard Brexit, which includes removing the country from the European single market.
Image: Reuters/N. Hall
Jeremy Corbyn on board
Embattled Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced his support of May's call for snap elections. He will attempt to position his party as an "effective alternative" to the Tories. Corbyn, a traditional labourist, will campaign on reversing government austerity, nationalizing railways, and investing in wages, all while steering clear of Brexit so as to not alienate the party's pro-leavers.
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Battles within the Labour party
Analysts predict few election gains for Labour, however, as Corbyn's Old Labour policies and refusal to bend to backbench opposition have split the party. Some Labour MPs challenged his support of snap election, and Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop said he would not stand for re-election due to "irreconcilable differences" with Corbyn.
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Farron seeks strong stance
Tim Farron, current leader of the Liberal Democrats said that, "only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority." After the party's coalition with the Conservatives under Cameron, the Lib Dems were smashed in 2015 national elections, receiving only nine seats. For Farron, the snap election will be a chance for him to significantly build up his party's representation in parliament.
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The "real opposition"
The pro-EU and economically liberal party also used May's announcement to call for a second Brexit referendum. In terms of the June elections, the Lib Dems could benefit from disaffected pro-EU Labour voters and those who seek a "soft Brexit" that would keep the UK in the European single market. According to the party, 1,000 people registered as Lib Dems just after May's announcement.
Trouble brewing in the north
Like the Lib Dems' Farron, first minister of the Scottish government and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon clearly positioned herself against May, describing the Prime Minister's move as a "huge political miscalculation." May and Sturgeon have been a loggerheads over whether or not a second Scottish referendum can go forward before Brexit comes into effect.
Image: Reuters/R. Cheyne
Support for independence?
The SNP already holds 54 of Scotland's allotted 59 MP seats, leaving little room for gain. However, the party is also unlikely to lose seats as their support has stayed steady. A majority of Scots voted to remain in the EU, meaning that Sturgeon could frame the election as both a call to Downing Street to consider a "soft Brexit" option and to consult the devolved nations in exit negotiations.
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UKIP slips into the shadows
Despite being a major player in the campaign to take the UK out of the EU, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) currently has just one seat in parliament. However, the Euroskeptic party still has a support base, and leader Paul Nuttall will seek to paint May as a political opportunist. Yet this will not likely translate into seats as many former UKIP voters have joined May's "hard Brexit" bandwagon.
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Bumper year of elections
Other parties currently holding Commons' seats include the Greens (one), Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (eight) and Sinn Fein (four), as well as Wales' Plaid Cymru (three). The June 8 election date places the UK's national election between that of France (April/May) and Germany (September), meaning parliamentary chambers on both sides of the channel may be in for a shake up.
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May outlines other pledges
May said she would also tighten laws on company takeovers and would ensure any foreign group buying important infrastructure did not undermine security or essential services if she wins next month's election.
"We will require bidders to be clear about their intentions from the outset of the bid process; that all promises and undertakings made in the course of takeover bids can be legally enforced afterwards; and that the government can require a bid to be paused to allow greater scrutiny," the Conservative Party said in its election policy document on Thursday.
May also said that when the current triple lock system governing the rates of state pensions expires in 2020, a new double lock system will be introduced instead. She said the double lock would mean pensions would rise in line with earnings or inflation, whichever was highest.
May said now was not the time for another Scottish independence referendum and one should not take place until the Brexit process has played out.
May added that she would increase spending on the state-run National Health Service by at least 8 billion pounds over the next five years and hike the migrant health surcharge. The Conservative election policy document also said it would prioritize the issue of the 140,000 nationals from other EU countries who work in the health system.
Writing in The Sun newspaper, May said she was "determined to cut the cost of living for ordinary working families, keep taxes low and to intervene when markets are not working as they should."
The Telegraph newspaper said May would also stick to the conservative government's pledge to cut the corporation tax to 17 percent by 2020.
Brexit: What lies ahead?
Britain has triggered EU Article 50, formally starting the process for the country to leave the 28-nation bloc. DW takes a look at some of the steps involved and the time required to strike an exit deal.
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What is Article 50?
Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon gives any existing member of the European Union the right to quit unilaterally and outlines the procedure for doing so. It gives the state concerned two years to negotiate a deal for its exit. Once Article 50 is triggered, it cannot be stopped, except by the unanimous consent of all member states.
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What does Article 50 actually say?
There are five elements in Article 50. They state that the exiting country must notify the European Council formally and that it is given a two-year period to reach an agreement. Article 50 also states that the country concerned cannot take part in EU’s internal discussions about its departure. The exit deal must be approved by a "qualified majority" and must also get the backing of MEPs.
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When will it be triggered?
The UK decided in favor of leaving the EU in a referendum in June 2016. After lengthy parliamentary debates and legal procedures, Prime Minister Theresa May looks all set to send a formal letter of notification to EU President Donald Tusk on March 29, which will trigger Article 50. Officials in Brussels have already outlined a divorce bill for Britain of between 55 and 60 billion euros.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
What happens after that?
The EU is expected to give a first response later this week. A summit of EU leaders on April 29 is then to lay down guidelines for the Brexit talks, which are expected to start in May or June. The hardest part of the negotiations will be determining the status of more than a million Britons living in other parts of the EU and of some 3 million EU citizens in Britain, and working out trade details.
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The Great Repeal Bill
By autumn this year, the UK government is expected to introduce legislation to leave the EU and put all existing EU laws into British law - the Great Repeal Bill. The possible move will annul the 1972 European Communities Act (ECA), which gives EU law instant effect in the UK, and give parliament the power to absorb parts of EU legislation into UK law, scrapping elements it does not want to keep.
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How long will the process last?
EU leaders have said they want to conclude the talks within 18 months to allow the terms of the exit to be ratified by UK and the European Parliaments as well as the EU states. If no agreement is reached in two years and no extension is agreed, the UK automatically leaves the EU and all existing agreements.
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What if the UK changes its mind?
The fifth paragraph of Article 50 raises the possibility of a state wanting to rejoin the EU after having left it. This would be considered under Article 49.
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People who currently receive free care in their home would be charged more, and funding for universal free school lunches for young children would be diverted to other educational tasks.
The ruling Conservative Party received 4.1 million pounds ($5.35 million) of donations in the first week of the campaign, the watchdog Electoral Commission said on Thursday. That compares to 2.7 million pounds for the main opposition Labour Party.
May heads into the election against the opposition center-left Labour with opinion surveys indicating that she could win by a landslide.
