LAST year almost 300,000 jobs were created in the UK.

Good news for the thousands of unemployed people in this country you would think.

Unfortunately, almost two thirds of these jobs were filled by migrant workers, mainly from Eastern Europe.

This week’s jobless figures reveal a further increase in unemployment, showing that jobs are becoming increasingly difficult to find.

So why do employers hire foreign staff when there is a plentiful supply of home-grown labour available? Migrant workers are cheaper than British workers, and can more easily be exploited by unscrupulous employers.

What happened to the British jobs for the British workers slogan spouted by Gordon Brown? Nothing. It was empty rhetoric.

Is there a solution? On the face of things the answer is no, because this coalition Government, like its Labour predecessor, is powerless to prevent the influx of cheap migrant labour as a result of EU regulations.

However, if Britain were to leave the EU, then EU directives on this issue and hundreds of other issues would be repealed.

We would be in charge of our own destiny again. However, leaders of the Liberal, Labour and Conservative parties are all pro-EU and will not give the people of this country any opportunity to express their desire to leave the EU.

Eric Wilson, UKIP Hartlepool.