Nigel Farage, on behalf of the IND/DEM Group. – Madam President, illegal immigration is a problem, which is made worse by the free movement of peoples. However, the current wave of unrest that is spreading rapidly through Britain is, of course, being caused by legal migration and by the European Union’s own rules.

For 20 years, British trade unions, having being seduced by Jacques Delors, thought the European Union was in their interests. Well, now the penny has dropped and they have realised that a British government is unable to put British interests first.

I am afraid it will get quite a lot worse. As we embark upon a round of massive public spending projects, such as the Olympics and council house building, thousands of European workers are set to benefit. British jobs for British workers cannot be guaranteed all the while we are inside the EU. The prospect of British taxpayers funding foreign workers is, frankly, unacceptable.

But the Government is holding firm, saying that the European Union is a wonderful thing. Well, it is not surprising is it? Lord Mandelson is still getting GBP 78 000 a year from the European Commission and, of course, gets a dependent pension on this in just a few years’ time – a conflict of interest if ever I saw one.

The big concern now is whether the xenophobic far right will benefit. We do not want that either. We in UKIP will put a non-racist agenda to the British people at the European elections, saying that it is time to put British interests first. We are not protectionists, but we want good common sense. We want to control our own borders and decide who lives, works and settles in our country.