UK election splits the country and calls for a softer Brexit approach

The UK General Election is finally over resulting in a hung parliament, with Theresa May's Conservative party winning 318 seats - eight short of an outright majority.

Mrs May won more seats than any other party and can still form a government, courtesy of ten DUP MP's in Northern Ireland. However, she did not obtain the desired "mandate" to negotiate a hard Brexit with EU leaders and ‘remainers’ in her own party could push to stay in the single market, while others could seek to derail the whole project. 

If either of the above scenarios came true the whole nation-dividing EU referendum and Brexit dream will have been for nothing, as nothing much will have changed – other than the UK losing its seat at the European table. 

Free movement will have to stay as part of any single market deal, which effectively throws any net migration targets out of the window. 

Remain campaigners and repentant EU leavers could be forgiven for sighing a breath of relief, although May has vowed to keep moving forward with ‘business as usual’ style negotiations starting this month.  

The election result shows that country has spoken. The people do not want a hard "no deal is better than a bad deal" exit from the EU, as illustrated by the collapse in UKIP vote and young voters turning to Labour. If a second ‘in/out’ referendum were to take place now, what do you think the result would be?

In the meantime, life goes on as usual for most us (not, unfortunately for those MP in office) and we have to carry on making our own 'economy' and driving the vehicle towards our passion and goals.  

The UK is still a popular destination for working and wealthy migrants seeking a safe country with a strong economy and rule of law.

Europe is the most sought after region in terms of high net worth immigration, accounting for over half of the total number of global citizenship applications, with the Caribbean in second place, followed by North America in third. Recent studies conducted by global immigration experts, ranked the Cyprus Citizenship by Investment Program among the “top ten best in the world”.

See also:

Cyprus, the fastest route to EU citizenship and European passports for you and your family

How will UK Immigration changes on 6 April affect you?

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Prime Minister May sticks to election pledge to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands

With a surprise general election set for 9 June, Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed the Conservative pledge of slashing net migration to the "tens of thousands", or what she described as "sustainable levels".

Mrs May, who is currently twenty points ahead of her nearest rival, Labour leader  Jeremy Corbyn, in the UK election polls, said it was important to reach net migration targets to reduce pressure on public services and the lower paid workers.

Theresa May

She said: "I think it is important that we continue, and we will continue, to say that we do want to bring net migration down to sustainable levels.

"We believe that is the tens of thousands, and of course once we leave the European Union we will have the opportunity to ensure that we have control of our borders here in the UK, because we'll be able to establish our rules for people coming from the European Union into the UK."

Referring to Brexit, May continued: "That's a part of the picture that we haven't been able to control before and we will be able to control it.

"Leaving the EU means that we won't have free movement as it has been in the past."

Party sources had earlier revealed to the press that the commitment would appear in the party's 

General Election manifesto.

Amber Rudd

On Sunday, Home Secretary Amber Rudd confirmed she wanted to "continue to bring immigration down", which under her watch have started to fall.

Who will make our coffee and croissant?

Miss Rudd, who took control of the Home Office from Theresa May added:

"I did hear that Pret a Manger had come out and said, 'It's absolutely essential for us to have European workers because if we don't we're going to have to make more of an effort to recruit in the UK'. 

"Well, good. I'd like them to make more of an effort to recruit in the UK. So we will be trying to push them as well to do more in the UK.

"Them and all business – so that we make sure we look after people who are otherwise unemployed in the UK better".

Pret's director of human resources claimed it would struggle to staff its outlets after Brexit because so few British people apply for jobs. Andrea Wareham said the industry was not seen as sufficiently desirable to attract a significant number of British jobseekers. 

The coffee chain employs people from 110 countries, but in London you are more likely to find European workers running the show. With millions of able bodied British people claiming benefits, it is hardly surprising that Amber Rudd refuses to pander to those worried about who will make their coffee or warm up their croissant in the stores that seem occupy almost every other shopfront in London. How did we all manage before Starbucks started our obsession with coffee? 

None of the main parties has said that EU migrants living here would not be able to continue to live and work in the UK.

Recent immigration figures reveal that net migration fell to 273,000 in the year to September, which is the first time in two years that the balance of people arriving and leaving the UK slid below 300,000.

The number of international students coming to study in Britain dropped to their lowest level since 2002, which contributed to the overall net migration figures.

Jeremy Corbyn said Labour would introduce a "fair" and managed immigration system that "works for all", while pointing out many immigrants have made a "massive contribution" to the NHS, education, industry and public transport services.

The previous Blair Labour government opened the doors to millions of migrants across all sectors from care workers and nurses to international students. At the same time the EU expansion took place adding at least 2 million migrants from former Soviet Bloc countries such as Poland and Romania.

Since coming to power in 2010, the Conservatives have reversed the spiralling immigration trend with tough new measures - such as scrapping the Post Study Work Visa, reforming the visa appeal system and introducing fines to landlords housing illegal immigrants - even if former Prime Minister David Cameron’s original targets have not yet been reached.

See also:

How will UK Immigration changes on 6 April affect you?

Cyprus, the fastest route to EU citizenship and European passports for you and your family

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