Tough talk on immigration at the annual conference of Britain's governing Conservatives will be welcomed by many of those who voted to leave the European Union to curb the number of new arrivals.

But proposals such as urging employers to publish a record of how many non-British citizens they hire, and the refusal to guarantee the rights of Europeans living in Britain after Brexit, have prompted widespread condemnation.

 The opposition leader

-- "Conservative party leaders have sunk to a new low this week as they fan the flames of xenophobia and hatred in our communities."

Main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

-- "Theresa May's vision of Brexit Britain is a deeply ugly one -- a country where people are judged not by their ability or their contribution to the common good but by their birthplace or by their passport."

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, head of the Scottish National Party

The creative

-- "After 20 years contributing to this great country and been recognised with a CBE how long before I am made to sew a star on my clothes?" 

Tamara Rojo, the Spanish artistic director and principal dancer at the English National Ballet

 The academic

-- "Just been promoted from Professor of Economics to UK Brexit bargaining chip. I love this place."

Christoph Thoenissen of the University of Sheffield, who grew up in Germany, France and the United States

 The businessmen

-- "A lot of businesses would be saddened if they felt having a global workforce was somehow seen as a badge of shame."

Adam Marshall, acting director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce

-- "The most nasty, racist, reactionary bit of employment law since 1930s Germany... Ellandi will categorically refuse to list foreign workers"

Mark Robinson, owner of shopping centre investor Ellandi

 The lawyer

-- "This is utterly abhorrent and has echoes from history that I find chilling. As a lawyer and as an employer I will refuse to comply with it."

Philip Marshall, joint head of chambers at London's 1 King's Bench Walk family law firm.

 The press

-- "Is it really too much to expect the head of our government to address the most pressing issue of the day by leading, not pandering?"

James Kirkup, executive editor -- politics, of the Conservative-supporting The Telegraph newspaper

-- "We're not going to wait to be 'nudged' by Home Secretary Amber Rudd on this, we're getting one step ahead of our jackbooted overlords."

Financial Times daily commentary service offers up a list of its foreign staff members, with a tongue-in-cheek apology for the Pole, the Iraqi and the three Americans.

 The EU leader

-- "If all countries impose conditions on free movement with all other countries, we would be in a very difficult situation."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a speech in Berlin