Citizenship test will be refined, says Javid as he hints at PM bid
THE citizenship test for foreigners coming to the UK was no better than a pub quiz, the Home Secretary said yesterday as he promised to make new arrivals learn about British values.
During a speech at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Sajid Javid also said it was not good enough that more than 700,000 people in the UK could not speak basic English, adding: “How can we possibly make a common home together if we can’t even communicate with each other?”
Mr Javid announced the Government’s new immigration policy yesterday, signalling an end to special treatment for EU nationals after the UK left the union.
The policy will focus on skills and aim to drive high-skilled migration to the UK for those working in growing industries to boost productivity.
The Home Secretary revealed he had redesigned the immigration system “from scratch” and hinted that the cap on the number of highly skilled migrants allowed to come to the UK could be scrapped.
In a speech to party delegates he criticised the current test for citizenship, telling the audience in the main hall: “Citizenship should mean more than being able to win a pub quiz.
“We need to make it a British values test – and that’s exactly what I will bring in. It’s about signing up to those values that we share and live by together. It’s about starting as you mean to go on. It’s about integration, not segregation.”
Currently, those wanting to become a British citizen must pay £50 to sit the test, which is based on a book of questions about subjects including literature, comedy, history and UK trivia.
Mr Javid said: “Today I am setting out how we will put British values at the heart of our immigration system, so we can help people integrate and make the most of the opportunities the UK has to offer.
“We will make the criteria for settlement more relevant to daily life.”
The language test will also be made more difficult, so that those wanting to become citizens must be able to speak fluently in order to become part of British society.
It came as Mr Javid gave the strongest hint yet that he could run as Conservative leader to replace Theresa May as he said he was “a big fan” of new Conservative Home leadership rankings, which had him as favourite.
The Home Secretary also told delegates in Birmingham that the party must appeal to ethnic minority voters or risk losing the next general election.