Actually, no, there is nothing we can do

Readers of this blog will undoubtedly recall a certain Mr Gordon Brown (who he? ed.) promising that British jobs will be primarily for British people. Setting aside the sheer stupidity of that statement, we need to point out that it is not an idea that can be implemented within the EU, being against the four freedoms that are the basis of the project and have been so since its inception.

So, what now, that we have a new government that is determined to do its best for Britain and be in Europe but not ruled by Europe? Well, Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked:

whether, in light of the rise in unemployment predicted in the Budget, they intend to follow the statement of the previous Prime Minister about "British jobs for British workers"

Lord Freud or the civil servants who write those responses pretended that the question was something completely different:

The Government will be taking action to reduce net migration from the hundreds of thousands it has been in recent years to the tens of thousands it used to be. A consultation process on the implementation of an annual limit on the number of non-EU migrants who come to the UK to work is currently under way.

We are committed to tackling the nearly 5 million people claiming one of the main out-of-work benefits, by reforming welfare and ensuring resident workers have the skills, attributes and help they need to be able to take up work.

Or, in other words, no because that is not something we can decide on. Then again, as I said above, it is an idiotic promise.