Comment

Our schools and hospitals simply cannot cope with the influx of migrants - that's why we must leave the EU

David Cameron wants to stay in the E
With maternity units in meltdown and 90,000 children set to lose out on their first choice of school, it's clear that the risk to our families and communities will rise if we vote to stay in Europe

This morning, I head to Westminster to make a speech in favour of Brexit at Voices for Britain. It’s not the kind of thing I normally do but, over the past fortnight, we’ve been hearing a lot about the risk to the economy if we leave, but almost nothing about the risk to families and communities if we stay.

This week, to take just one example, is when kids find out which secondary school they’ll be going to. An exciting time but also, for too many, a bitterly disappointing one. One in six schools has too many pupils.

In 2015, 84,000 pupils missed out on their first choice. This year, it’s set to be around 90,000. Oh, and England is short of 250,000 primary school places. Plus, they reckon we will need a staggering 880,000 extra school places by 2023.

I know it’s considered rather impolite to say that it’s due to immigration, but the National Audit Office says it is and that’s borne out if you take somewhere like Peterborough, the third fastest-growing place in the UK.

In just five years, the city’s primary school population has increased by 24 per cent, caused by the influx of EU migrants.

The birth rate is higher among foreign mothers with one quarter of Britain’s babies being born to them, the largest number coming from Poland.

Children at school 
Secondary school decision time is a stressful experience 

Unsurprisingly, maternity units are in meltdown. A young couple I know turned up at one when the mum-to-be was in labour and were told, “Sorry, we’re full.”

Now, the Government is encouraging women to have home births, bribing them with £3,000 vouchers and pretending it’s a marvellous option, instead of a cheap fix.

Pregnant women
The new plan aims to give pregnant women greater control over birth

The Prime Minister insists that we will be safer if we stay in the EU. Well, not if you’re a pregnant women, Mr Cameron.

With the fastest-growing population in Europe, we are unable to provide proper care and facilities for the women and children who are here already. It’s outrageous.

If we remain in the EU, which gives us no choice but to accept tens of thousands of migrants a year, then our schools and our hospitals will simply not be able to cope. As it says on the door of the maternity unit: Sorry, we’re full.

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