Corbyn: Welsh immigration rules proposal 'fraught'

Allowing the Welsh Government to set its own immigration rules would be "fraught with difficulties", the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said.

He has rejected proposals on devolving immigration policy from an all-party group including Labour's Chuka Umunna.

The group said the idea could allow controls to be responsive to different local needs.

But Mr Corbyn told BBC Wales such a move would potentially "restrict movement of people within the UK".

He asked: "What would you do if it was [in] a contracting industry - say, the building industry - that had a contract to do work in other parts of the UK.

"Would you say that the European workers couldn't go and work on it?

"I think it's fraught with difficulties."

Jeremy Corbyn and Carwyn Jones campaigning in Maesteg before May's assembly election

Mr Corbyn rejected earlier criticism by First Minister Carwyn Jones that he had a London-centric approach on immigration.

Since Mr Jones made the comment, Mr Corbyn has said Labour is not "wedded" to freedom of movement, but also said he thought immigration to the UK from the EU was not too high.

"It's not about being London-centric," the Labour leader told BBC Wales in an interview on Thursday.

"It's about the economic relationship we have to have in the future.

"If we want access to the European market, there's going to be negotiations around that.

"There may well be conditions placed around that - we don't know exactly what those are going to be at this stage.

"That's why I say that the priority has to be making sure that those excellent manufacturing industries and jobs that are going on in Britain do have somewhere to export and sell their goods to.

"If we cut ourselves off from Europe then we're going to have a real problem with maintaining those industries."

'Good heart'

Despite an opinion poll suggesting Labour's support in Wales was at its lowest for almost seven years, Mr Corbyn said Labour was "in good heart and good fettle and we're raring to go".

Asked if he would be seen on the campaign trail in Wales ahead of the council elections in May, he said: "You certainly will".

Mr Corbyn defended the Labour-led Welsh Government's record on the economy, health and education, saying it was "improving".

He added: "The UK government needs to recognise the needs of Wales and the needs of communities living in a post-industrial society - of the levels of poverty that exist within those communities.

"The Welsh Government is on to this, and a Welsh Government working hard for the people of Wales is what we've got and and what we'll continue to have."