Leading figures in both the Conservative and Labour parties have ruled out maintaining free movement of people after Britain leaves the European Union. Launching his campaign for the Conservative leadership, justice secretary Michael Gove said he would deliver on the promises made by his Vote Leave campaign.
“I will end free movement, introduce an Australian-style points-based system for immigration, and bring numbers down. With my leadership, it will be delivered,” he said.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell, a close ally of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, said his party would also oppose any post-Brexit deal which preserved Britain's obligation to allow all citizens of EU countries to live and work in the EU.
“Let’s be absolutely clear on the immigration issue. If Britain leaves the European Union, the free movement of people, of labour, will then come to an end,” Mr McDonnell said.
“There will be a range of options which people will then have the opportunity to debate. The problem with a referendum is that it’s a binary choice. We have to respect the decision of it, but now we have to explore the details of those implications and allow the people in this country to participate in the debate about what sort of relationship we want with the European Union. That includes the issue of immigration itself.”
Mr Gove's tough stance on immigration means that all five Conservative leadership candidates oppose allowing free movement of people to continue after Britain leaves the EU. The justice secretary is struggling to win support among MPs following his surprise abandonment of erstwhile ally Boris Johnson on Thursday, in favour of launching his own leadership bid.
Westminster buzzed with speculation on Friday that home secretary Theresa May could win the leadership without having to seek the support of the party membership in a two-person contest. Conservative MPs will start voting on the five-person field next Tuesday, whittling the candidates down to two in a series of secret ballots.
Ms May has opened up such a commanding lead among MPs, however, that some of her supporters believe that all her rivals could fall away before the end of the process at Westminster.
Ms May, who backed Remain but did not campaign during the referendum, has presented herself as a safe pair of hands who can unite the Conservative party by offering cautious, competent management of the country. But Mr Gove said the next prime minister should be someone who had favoured leaving the EU and would embrace with enthusiasm the prospect of radical change.
“What this country needs is not just a plan to make do and mend but a vision to transform our country for the better. I have that vision – to build an even more dynamic economy, and a society that is fundamentally more fair,” he said.
Both Mr Gove and Ms May have called for a more guided, popular capitalism in Britain and chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne on Friday signalled a slowdown in austerity policies. Speaking in Manchester, the chancellor said that in view of the likely impact of the Brexit vote on the country's finances, he had abandoned his target of returning the government budget to surplus by 2020.
“The referendum is expected to produce a significant negative economic shock to our economy. How we respond will determine the impact on jobs and growth. We must provide fiscal credibility, continuing to be tough on the deficit while being realistic about achieving a surplus by the end of the decade,” he said.
