I already know this, you know that people can have permanent leave to remain just by being the mother or similar to someone already here?
I know this was way up thread but it's a myth that needs challenging.
Speaking as an immigrant mother of a British child, that's rubbish. I'm a permanent resident now, but giving birth to my son with my British partner didn't achieve that. Not even marrying my British partner automatically achieved that - we had to jump through numerous hoops, he had to make a good wage (mine didn't count), we had to fulfil all manner of criteria and complete a probationary period.
I think that's right and appropriate, actually. But really, it's no longer easy for non-EU immigrants to come to and stay in the UK, and it hasn't been for quite some years now.
I understand people's concerns about EU immigration but UKIP's 'solutions' are frankly fanciful. 'We'll leave the EU but retain the benefits through free trade agreements just like Norway and Switzerland!' What aren't they telling you? That to get those FTAs, they have to agree to free movement of labour. So nothing would change on the immigration front as a result of leaving the EU.
The only difference is that those countries aren't part of the political union, for good or I'll, don't pay EU subs and don't participate in EU programmes (which numerous areas of the UK, that are often the least well off, benefit from). They therefore don't participate in the joint decision making which is increasingly democratic in the EU, unless you're British and a bloc of your elected representatives can't be bothered to vote or otherwise represent our interests.
Someone remind me which party those expenses scroungers belong to?