Immigration Row Reopens Old Brexit Scars: U.K. Campaign Trail

(Bloomberg) --

The Conservatives are trying to put immigration at the center of their campaign on Thursday. Home Secretary Priti Patel published analysis -- which Labour rejects -- saying Jeremy Corbyn’s “open borders” policy will push up net migration to 840,000 per year.

After more false starts, Boris Johnson will hope the message resonates with pro-Brexit voters in the traditional Labour heartlands he wants to win.

Must Read: Voting in the Dark: U.K. Politicians Fight Rare Winter Election

ELEC for more on the U.K. election

Coming up:

• Corbyn campaigns in Scotland; Labour to announce measures to close the gender pay gap
• 4 p.m. official deadline for nominating candidates for the election

The Polls:

• Savanta ComRes poll for the Telegraph: Conservatives 40%, Labour 30%, Lib Dems 16%, Brexit Party 7%
• Here’s a summary of recent polls

Catching Up:

• Tory leader’s office pledges more money for electric car technology and offshore wind farms, but the day did not go perfectly
• Elon Musk blames Brexit for U.K. missing out on Tesla Inc. gigafactory
• Tories offered Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage an electoral pact; he turned it down, the Telegraph reports
• Lib Dem Leader Jo Swinson sees a chance to woo moderate Tories
• Past social media gaffes haunt candidates

The Markets:

• The pound was little changed on Wednesday and edged lower early on Thursday
• Betfair Exchange puts the chances of a Conservative majority at about 62%, while the party has about a 52% chance of winning more than 340 seats, according to the exchange, where punters bet against each other, rather than the bookmaker itself.

--With assistance from Peter Flanagan.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Emma Ross-Thomas

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