Free movement when Eastern European country free movement was enabled and the anticipated tens if thousands arrival became hundreds of thousands. If planned immigration had been allowed we may eventually have had the same numbers of arrivals but staggered to allow assimilation.
!) The immigration figure included EU students coming to study at our universities, most of whom returned home when their studies were finished
2) A great many EU migrants were seasonal workers doing jobs which, indeed, local people didn't want to do'home' at the end of the season and who went'home' at the end of the season. As evidenced by farmers' problems in getting enough workers to harvest their crops in the last couple of years as EU migration has dropped considerably.
3) Connected to this is the fact which is being constantly quoted to us that we have almost full employment so EU immigrants were not 'taking our jobs'.
4) Interestingly, although EU immigration has declined sharply, immigration from non EU countries has greatly increased according to the latest immigration figures. So we're still experiencing high levels of immigration, just not pesky EU citizens.
5) I'm not sure what you mean by 'assimilation'. I suspect it's the old 'pressure on services' complaint. In view of 4) I doubt if that has changed.
6) We have always been able to control EU immigration in that we could send back EU immigrants after three months who had no job, no means of support and no health insurance. Other EU countries do it all the time. We just never bothered.
The opening up of government tendering to the markets as per EU directive. NHS, Defense, Waste, etc. All now have to be openly tendered.
That seems to me to be a perfectly reasonable requirement that any sensible government would wish to implement. Or are you in favour of secret contracts being made with no accountability to the taxpayer?
Allowing the depression of income by profiteers exploiting cheap imported labour. and enabling it to continue, enabling the lie that Brits wont do it.
Academic studies have shown that EU workers have had very little effect on keeping wages low. Whereas, of course, the tory austerity policy has seen wages fall dramatically in real terms since 2010.
Contraction of social benefits because improvements would encourage more low paid labour to arrive, avail of in work benefits and offshore the same. If you remember Cameron did seek to restrict benefit entitlement to EU employees but was told it was illegal.
That's a goodie! I've not seen that one before. Of course, tory cuts to welfare benefits as part of their austerity policy have nothing to do with it...
Stating that government support for infrastrucure i.e. Railways and steel is not permitted by EU when Other countries seem to manage it.
Funny; living in the NE as I do I have made many journeys on the nationalised East Coast mainline. Now undergoing its second renationalisation while we are still in the EU. However, EU regulations are a handy get out for a government that doesn't actually want to nationalise anything. As you say, other EU member states have found a way to do it. So could we if we had the will...
On the other hand, we have always had full control over:
Health policy. Education. Fiscal policy. Public expenditure. Monetary policy. Income tax. Corporation tax. Capital gains tax. Inheritance tax. Border control and security. Non-EU immigration. Pensions. Welfare. Foreign policy decisions. Defence. Military Intelligence. Development cooperation and humanitarian aid. All local government. National policing. Crime. Media and press regulation. Family law. Property law and succession of estates.
Hardly a picture of emasculated government.
