Rishi Sunak unveils plan for a cap on migrants coming to UK | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Rishi Sunak has confirmed he’ll cap the variety of migrants coming to Britain and guarantee immigration falls “year-on-year”.

The Prime Minister stated Parliament will vote on a quantity set by the Government upon recommendation from the Migration Advisory Committee – the Government’s migration advisors.

Ministers will inform the Migration Advisory Committee “that our objective is to get migration down to sustainable levels, for levels to fall year-on-year over the next Parliament and that they must consider both the costs and benefits of migration.”

The Tories insist it will forestall public companies, such because the NHS and colleges, from being overwhelmed.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated: “We have taken bold action to cut the number of people coming to this country. The plan is working but migration levels are still too high, so we are going further.

“Labour’s migrant amnesty will make the UK a global magnet for illegal immigrants and they have no plan to reduce net migration, while we have a clear plan to stop the boats and put a legal cap on numbers.

“The Conservatives are the only party that is willing take the bold action needed to cut immigration figures.”

The Conservatives haven’t acknowledged what the annual cap needs to be set at.

But former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has beforehand referred to as for a cap on internet migration of lower than 100,000 a 12 months, arguing that it’s the solely strategy to restore voters’ belief.

Professor Brian Bell, Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, stated a ban on international college students and abroad employees bringing their members of the family with them was having a far greater affect than the Government anticipated.

Measures launched by Mr Sunak and Home Secretary James Cleverly final 12 months might result in internet migration falling to between 150,000 and 200,000 later this 12 months.

Net migration surged to a document excessive of 764,000 in 2022.

But former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had pledged to scale back the determine from 226,000 in 2019.

Work was the largest driver of migration in 2023, overtaking examine, for the primary time since 2019.

There was a considerable enhance within the variety of individuals arriving from exterior the EU on work visas final 12 months, notably from India or Nigeria mostly on well being and care employee visas.

And dependants – who had been sometimes kids – outnumbered fundamental candidates on a majority of these visas.

Home Secretary James Cleverly has insisted the plan to “deliver the largest-ever cut to legal migration” is working, with loopholes exploited by migrants to maneuver to Britain being closed.

The variety of international employees making use of to come back to the UK by means of the well being and social care route visa has fallen by 76 per cent.

New figures printed by the Home Office present the variety of functions to come back to the UK on this route fell from 50,900 in January to April 2023 to 12,400 over the identical interval this 12 months.

And the variety of international college students making use of to carry their members of the family with them has fallen by 79 per cent, from 38,900 to eight,300.

The elevated wage threshold of £38,700 – in comparison with £26,200 – would result in the variety of international graduates staying within the UK to work falling from 70,000 to 26,000, Professor Bell stated.

Mr Sunak is warning the UK will turn out to be a “magnet” for migrants underneath Labour.

Tom Pursglove, the minister for authorized migration, outlined how the Conservatives wished to go additional on bringing numbers down.

He wrote within the Telegraph: “We will make it clear to the MAC that their task is to bring numbers down to sustainable levels, with an overall cap that falls every year in the next Parliament, while making sure the NHS and businesses get the employees they need.

“Many other countries take this kind of bold action, including Australia. Australia has a cap on permanent migration which allows them to keep immigration at sustainable levels, while ensuring their economy gets the high-skilled workers it needs.

“There is no clearer contrast between us and the Labour Party. Keir Starmer flip flops day to day, but he said as recently as 2020 that he wanted to bring back freedom of movement, reversing the progress we’ve made thanks to Brexit.

“Yvette Cooper says that Labour wants to cut net migration but would not say by how much or by when, let alone setting out a credible plan to achieve it. Their record shows that they have no credibility.”

And the High Court on Monday heard that the primary migrant flights to Rwanda at the moment are anticipated on July 24.

Judge Mr Justice Chamberlain ordered the Cabinet Office and Home Office to inform the court docket the earliest date they deliberate to start out removals.

Edward Brown KC, for the Home Office, stated in written submissions: “The defendant confirms that he intends to effect removals with a flight to Rwanda on July 23 2024, and not before.”

However, later within the listening to, Mr Brown stated the primary flight is now set to depart on July 24 after an “operational update”.

Mr Justice Chamberlain stated the Home Office “has said a number of things” about when the primary flight is ready to be.

He added that the authorized challenges are “all going to be subject to the outcome of the General Election … but we obviously can’t make any predictions about that”.

The decide continued: “There is a public interest in the determination of these issues … before the earliest date on which flights may be.”

Mr Justice Chamberlain stated a four-day listening to in a case introduced by a person asylum seeker might happen the week after the General Election.

In the authorized motion introduced by the FDA union, the decide beforehand stated the Government had supplied “insufficient clarity” about when the flights had been as a consequence of start, prompting the order.

Asylum Aid is bringing authorized motion, claiming that the Safety of Rwanda coverage unlawfully tells decision-makers to not think about the danger of Rwanda sending an individual to a 3rd nation the place they’d be susceptible to torture, loss of life, or different human rights abuse.

Lawyers for the charity will now have to be given the inexperienced mild by a decide to carry the complete problem, with the Home Office describing components of the declare as “unarguable”.