Caroline has slammed Nigel Farage's 'toxic style of campaigning'. 

In a response to Farage's comments about free movement within the EU she lambasted the UKIP leader for failing to acknowledge the benefits of free movement. 

Caroline Lucas MP said:

“Nigel Farage’s toxic style of campaigning is back. By ramping up the rhetoric on migration he's once again using people who come to make a life in Britain as pawns in this debate.

“What he fails to acknowledge is the benefits of free movement. Whether that’s the vast numbers of EU nationals working in the NHS, the huge boost that EU citizens have given our economy or the day to day benefits of living in a multicultural society. That’s not to mention the other aspect of free movement we so easily forget: the right that each and every Briton has to study, work and retire across the EU.

“No one would pretend that public services in Britain aren’t under strain – or that big changes in population don’t have an effect. But that’s why we should work to ensure that communities have the resources they need to cope.

“It is also not true to say that we have no control of our borders. Since 2010 we have refused entry to almost 6,000 EEA nationals at the UK border.

“UKIP’s warped mythmaking on migration won’t be beaten by winning this referendum alone – it will be beaten when politicians are brave enough to stand up to the myths and lies they spread – and promote fair, alternative solutions to social injustice.

“The Green Party will be standing up to those who peddle myths about migration – and we’ll be making a positive case for the right that we all have to freedom of movement.”  

ENDS

Contact: Matthew Butcher on 07885 459 904 or clucasmedia@parliament.uk