Clarke: Setting out points-based plan

Charles Clarke has revealed the government's immigration plans with a pledge to introduce a points system for those seeking to live and work in the UK.

Under the proposal anyone seeking to move to the UK will have to prove that they can contribute to the country.

In a Commons statement on Monday the home secretary said that the new system will take into account factors such as age, education, language skills and employment history.

While skilled workers from overseas will be able to bring their immediate families, a new crackdown on migrant numbers will also be implemented with new restrictions on other immigrants and asylum seekers.

The adoption of an Australian-style points system is being seen as an attempt to assuage growing public fears about immigration and close down an area of debate in which the Conservatives are polling well with a promise to set a clear annual limit on the number of new arrivals to the UK

Clarke said those seeking to live in the UK must prove they "have a job and can contribute to the economy of the country".

Financial bonds will incentivise visitors to return home when their visas run out.

Setting out his his new five-year strategy for immigration and asylum, he argued that "the public need to have confidence that our immigration system is properly run and enforced, with strict controls that work".

"People need to understand clearly who is allowed into the country and why, who is allowed to settle permanently and why - and that it is decided by what is in the interests of Britain," he said.

"This country needs migration - tourists, students and migrant workers make a vital contribution to the UK economy.  But we need to ensure that we let in migrants with the skills and talents to benefit Britain, while stopping those trying to abuse our hospitality and place a burden on our society.

"We will introduce a simpler, clearer, more effective scheme for those wishing to come and work here, focusing on the highly skilled migrants that can help us build our economy."

Asylum

Other measures included the introduction of fixed penalty fines for employers taking on illegal workers.

On asylum Clarke said he would continue to speed up decision making and the removals processes for those turned down.

Successful applicants will only be given a five year visa, with permanent residency only allowed if after that period their home country is still judged to be unsafe.

He also slammed the Tory proposals as "unworkable, unjust, counter-productive and immoral".

"We will build on our achievements with asylum, cracking down further on those who seek to exploit our system," he said.

"More claims will be fast-tracked and we will have tighter controls throughout the process. People who are genuinely fleeing persecution will be able to find a safe haven in this country but we will be tough on those trying to exploit the system.

"Swift removal is central to the credibility of our system.  We will have a new drive to secure more effective returns arrangements with the countries from which most of our failed asylum seekers have come.  We will achieve all this through effective international cooperation, not through isolation.

"Each year there are millions of visitors to our shores. We have global communications, global economies and global movement of people. We have to adapt to these developments, not by putting up the shutters, but by managing, controlling and selecting.

"The strategy we are setting out today will build on progress that has already been made to ensure we have a robust immigration system fit for the 21st century, that is fair and practical and working in the interests of Britain."

Attack

Conservative shadow home secretary David Davis said the government had failed to remove 250,000 failed asylum seekers from the UK and limits on economic migrants had been a "shambles".

"What we are seeing today is a rather panicky response from the government after eight years of failure," he said.

He told MPs the blueprint was "confused, weak and chaotic".

Liberal Democrat spokesman Mark Oaten said there was a "bidding war" going on between the two major parties.

"Whilst it is good that Labour has rejected the Tory idea of quotas on asylum, the jury is still out on the Home Office's ability to deliver a fair and efficient asylum system," he said.

"For too long it has pandered to the right and not been positive about welcoming genuine refugees, while at the same time its systems have failed to act quickly enough when people try to abuse them."

"The Liberal Democrats will continue to speak up for the economic benefits that migrants bring and the need for genuine asylum seekers to be made welcome," he added.

"We would base immigration quotas on an independent economic assessment on the number of migrant workers, not arbitrary targets.

"On asylum, we would take the assessment system away from the Home Office, who have a track record of poor decisions and long delays, and create a new independent agency."