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UK Independence Party Wins First Parliamentary Seat

But rift immediately opens between new lawmaker and leader Nigel Farage after the latter says immigrants with HIV should be banned from Britain.
Image via Reuters

An awkward rift has opened between the UK Independence Party's first member of parliament and party leader Nigel Farage, after the newly-elected lawmaker refused to endorse the latter's call for a ban on migrants with HIV from entering Britain.

Douglas Carswell was elected as right-wing party's first MP on Friday morning after taking home 59.7 percent of the vote in a by-election in Clacton, Essex, in a result that sent tremors through Westminster.

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The Clacton by-election was triggered after Carswell defected from the Conservative Party to UKIP.

The disagreement with Farage threatened to dampen UKIP's victory celebrations, however, after Carswell declined to say whether he backed the leader's views on migrants with HIV.

Farage made his comments in an interview with Newsweek Europe, where he said that the sort of people who should be allowed to migrate to Britain should be "People who do not have HIV, to be frank. That's a good start. And people with a skill."

Carswell's father Wilson was one of the first doctors to identify HIV/Aids in Uganda in the 1980s.

In an interview with the Guardian, Carswell shied away from addressing Farage's comments regarding HIV, saying only that he backed a points-based immigration system similar to Australia's.

He said: "We need an Australian-type immigration system with control over our borders. I don't recognise the Guardian's characterisation of the debate … I agree with everything that Nigel has said and we need an Australian-type immigration system."

Migrants to Australia must pass a full medical test before they can settle. HIV-positive individuals are not automatically banned but an assessment is made about the costs of treating the individual.

The remarks by Farage dominated a joint walkabout through the center of Clacton by the two men.

Farage clarified that migrants with a serious medical condition such as HIV/Aids should be banned from settling in Britain unless they have private medical insurance.

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He said: "There is tuberculosis. There are many, many diseases. If you actually listen to what senior clinicians say about the pressure put on the NHS by foreign patients you'd know what we are saying."

He added: "We support an Australia-style points system."

Carswell used his victory speech to warn that UKIP must not tolerate racism, and must reach all parts of Britain.

Farage also took a swipe at the BBC after a journalist asked him if he was planning to ban people entering Britain if they have a serious condition.

He said: "Only in Britain could the state broadcaster ask a question like this. Would you go to Australia if you had a life-threatening disease? Would you go to America and expect treatment at the public expense? We have got a National Health Service and the clue is in the name."

He said that his ban would apply to immigrants rather than tourists.

Follow Ben Bryant on Twitter: @benbryant