Nigel Farage laments 'unrecognisable' Britain in Ukip spring conference speech

 
Britain's UK Independence Party
1 March 2014
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Nigel Farage today claimed immigration was making Britain “unrecognisable”, in a provocative speech to launch Ukip’s European elections campaign.

The party leader put the issue at the heart of his campaign, saying “a massive oversupply” of EU citizens was hitting services and jobs.

“It’s ordinary folk, it’s ordinary families that are paying the financial price,” he told his spring conference in Torquay. “But what about the social price of this?

“The fact that in scores of our cities and market towns, this country in a short space of time has frankly become unrecognisable.

“Whether it is the impact on local schools and hospitals, whether it is the fact in many parts of England you don’t hear English spoken any more.

“This is not the kind of community we want to leave to our children and grandchildren.”

Mr Farage won a standing ovation for his address. It came amid recriminations in the Tory ranks over how the immigration issue and relations with Ukip have been handled.

A 30 per cent rise in net immigration left the Prime Minister’s pledge to cut numbers to the “tens of thousands” looking untenable yesterday.

Some Conservative backbenchers are criticising David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May for building up unrealistic public expectations that the Coalition would substantially reduce immigration.

Mr Farage urged supporters to “tell the political class where to go” by voting Ukip in the May 22 European and local elections, and predicted an “earthquake” result. Earlier he said he would “do a deal with the devil” if necessary to get Britain out of the EU.

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