May’s Eurosceptic case for staying in the EU

Theresa May, one of the Government’s key advocates for staying in the European Union, will admit today that there are “problems” with Britain continuing as an EU member but add that on a “balanced judgment” she thinks the UK should stay in. In her first speech of the referendum campaign, the Home Secretary will promise not to “insult people’s intelligence” by suggesting Brussels is “wholly good”. Her belief in an “optimistic” future for Britain underpins her support for staying in.

THERESA MAY risked ridicule yesterday as she insisted Britain has control of its borders despite official forecasts predicting three million people will move here from abroad by 2030.

The Home Secretary admitted that the right of EU citizens to move to the UK “makes it harder to control immigration”. She repeatedly rejected suggestions that the Government cannot limit numbers while Britain remains in the EU because “control of our borders and immigration policy are two different things”. The suggestion that Britain has control of its borders because it can keep out criminals and has passport checks – as opposed to being able to limit numbers – was seized on by Eurosceptics.

Douglas Carswell, the Ukip MP, said the comments were “a glimpse of what happens if we vote Remain” and warned “no Home Secretary will ever be able to claim to cut migration” inside the EU.

Mrs May, one of the Government’s key advocates for staying in the EU, will today admit there are “problems” with Britain continuing as an EU member but add that on a “balanced judgement” she thinks the UK should stay in.

The Home Secretary will give her first speech of the campaign today by outlining the Eurosceptic case for an In vote to an audience in London. She has been given an enhanced role in the campaign in an attempt to woo Tory Eurosceptics, given her credibility on crime and immigration.

On BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show yesterday, Mrs May said controlling immigration was “hard” whether you were inside or outside the EU but conceded free movement – the right for EU citizens to move to any other country in the bloc – did harm efforts to limit numbers. “Free movement makes it harder to control immigration but it doesn’t make it impossible to control immigration,” she said. Last week, official forecasts that net migration will be three million higher by 2030 formed the basis of the Treasury’s analysis of the alternatives to EU membership.

Mrs May was repeatedly pushed on whether she agreed with Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary who backs an Out vote, that the figures showed Britain “can’t control our borders” inside the EU. “Actually control of our borders and immigration policy are two different things,” Mrs May said, insisting passport checks and the ability to turn away criminals represented control.

“You are conflating immigration policy and free movement with control of our borders. People are checked. Control of our borders means we can stop people entering the United Kingdom, which we can,” she added. Writing in

The Times today, Mr Gove claims the NHS faces “unquantifiable strain” if Britain remains in the EU and that Britain will be subject to a major “free for all” as the next wave of EU migration hands millions more people the right to move here.

Dominic Raab, the justice minister, suggested yesterday that Britain could turn away 10 times more extremists and criminals if the UK left the EU.

That came as Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the minister in charge of tackling extremism, was accused of “complacency” after claiming the UK is adequately prepared to combat terrorists exploiting porous borders.