Miliband unveils 10 point plan for action on immigration without “playing the politics of fear”

Yesterday Ed Miliband added a sixth pledge to Labour’s pledge card, when he made further commitments on housing. Today he returns to another of Labour’s pledges – immigration. In a speech in Wales, the Labour leader will challenge David Cameron to back his “clear, credible and concrete” plan for action on immigration in the first 100 days after the election – including an immigration bill in Labour’s first Queen’s Speech. Miliband will say:

“Today, I challenge the Conservative Party to match our offer, show you are serious on immigration without making false promises or playing the politics of fear.”

Here’s the 10 point plan he’ll be unveiling this morning:

• Recruiting an additional 1,000 borders staff, paid for by a small charge on non-visa visitors to the UK.
• Stopping those who have committed serious crimes coming to Britain and deport those who commit them after they arrive.
• Introducing full exit checks, so that we can count people in and out of the country.
• Ending the indefinite detention of people in the asylum and immigration system and uphold our traditions and obligations on refugees.
• Keeping the cap on workers from outside the EU and tightening the rules by requiring large firms hiring workers from outside to offer apprenticeships here.
• Making it illegal for employers to undercut wages by exploiting workers – and enforcing this law with a special 100-strong Home Office unit with investigatory powers.
• Banning recruitment agencies from hiring only from overseas.
• Closing the loophole whereby employers are able to use agency staff as a way to undercut the wages of permanent staff.
• Preventing people who come here from claiming benefits for at least two years or sending child benefit to families living abroad.
• Requiring people working in public services in public facing roles to speak English.