"Miliband to clamp down on benefits for EU migrants"

[dutchman]

Labour will not turn their backs on voters who fear the impact of immigration, Ed Miliband has vowed.



The Labour leader set out plans to extend the amount of time migrants must have been living in the UK to six months before allowing them to claim benefits.

He said new arrivals should be subjected to tighter border controls and must also have to learn English - but warned against "turning our back on the rest of the world".

During a campaign speech in north Wales, Mr Miliband said: "Now some people might be asking: can we really deal with these concerns and stay within the European Union?

"My answer is yes," he told workers at the Airbus factory in Broughton.

"But the EU needs to change."

Speaking later on the BBC's World at One, he said Labour was willing to clamp down on migrants wishing to claim benefits after arriving in the UK.

"We should make the amount of time before people can claim jobseeker's allowance longer, at least to six months, possibly longer."

Mr Miliband said that fears about immigration were a factor in the "deep discontent" among voters but said Britain needed skilled foreign workers.

"We will never again turn our backs on people who are worried about immigration," he said in his speech.

"But neither will we turn our back on the rest of the world.

"Our openness can help us build a more prosperous country. But we will do it in a way that advances, and doesn't hold back, people's ability to build a better life for themselves and their families."

[rebbonk]

Populist band wagon!

Miliband is about as much use as the present imbecile from No.10.

If ever we get a politician that is free thinking and a visionary it will be the first for many years.

As far as I'm concerned, I'll vote, but not one of the deserves to be elected. Frankly, I don't know how many of them can stand up, because they have no spine! - And that includes the present incumbent in No.10 and our local MPs!