Both candidates seeking to become Britain's next prime minister vowed in interviews published on Friday to impose tougher rules on European Union (EU) citizens newly arriving in Britain, as they face a ballot of party members to choose David Cameron's successor.
Just over two weeks since concerns over immigration pushed many Britons to back Brexit in a referendum, Home Secretary Theresa May and Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom both promised to restrict free movement of citizens from the EU.
"People going on holiday or travelling on business or to collaborate on science will be able to do that but the right to reside and the right to work here will be under work permits," Andrea Leadsom told The Times newspaper.
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Controlling the number of new arrivals to Britain was a major driver for many of the 52 per cent of Britons who backed leaving the European Union but Britain may have to accept EU citizens in return for access to the single market.
When Britons were asked to choose between the two, 48 per cent of voters said they favoured keeping market access compared to 37 per cent who said capping immigration from Europe was more important, according to a survey by ORB for The Independent newspaper published on Friday. Around 150,000 grassroots members of the ruling Conservative Party will choose a successor to Cameron by September 9.
In what could turn into a increasingly personal contest between the two candidates, Leadsom mentioned the fact that Theresa May does not have children in an interview with The Times newspaper.