Category Archives: Immigration

Rishi Sunak Left Red-Faced By Humiliating U-Turn Over Immigration Crackdown

Posted on by
Reply

Rishi Sunak has been forced into a major U-turn over his plans to make it harder for foreign spouses to move to the UK.

In a humiliating climbdown, the government has ditched moves to increase the amount of money a British worker must earn in order to get a visa for their overseas-based partner.

Under the policy set out less than three weeks ago by home secretary James Cleverly, the salary threshold would increase from £18,600 to £38,700 a year next spring.

But following a major backlash, the government quietly announced tonight that it will initially only go up to £29,000.

Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “You have to wonder who is in charge at the Home Office, or if anyone is. It was clear to everyone else that the raising of the earnings threshold was unworkable.

“This was yet another half thought through idea to placate the hardliners on their own back benches.

“James Cleverly needs to put down the spade and stop digging.”

The embarrassing U-turn also makes a mockery of Sunak’s claim that he makes “long-term decisions” for the good of the country.

Cleverly unveiled the policy as part of a package of measures aimed at reducing immigration to the UK by 300,000 a year.

That came after figures revealed that net migration – the difference between those entering and leaving the UK – last year was 745,000.

In their last election manifesto, the Tories promised to bring it down below 225,000.

Right-wing Conservative MPs reacted angrily to the climbdown.

Jonathan Gullis said: “This decision is deeply disappointing and undermines our efforts.”

Share Button

Sky News Presenter Slams Rishi Sunak For Using ‘Extreme’ Language Over Immigration

Posted on by
Reply

Trevor Phillips has accused Rishi Sunak of using “extreme” language on immigration after the prime minister claimed the UK risks being “overwhelmed” by foreigners.

The prime minister said that could “destroy” British democracy unless the government takes tough action to crack down on the issue.

He made his comments at a conservative political festival in Rome, where he also heaped praise on the Italy’s right-wing prime minister, Georgia Meloni.

On his Sky News programme this morning, Phillips asked deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden: “Does Rishi Sunak, son of east African Asians, really believe that immigrants are going to – as he put it yesterday – overwhelm us and destroy our democracy?”

Dowden said: “We do have to reassure people that we have got control of our borders, and we cannot have this unsustainable situation where we’re enriching people smugglers, the worst people on the Earth, through allowing this trade in human beings across the Channel.”

But Phillips hit back: “You know I’m not a nit-picker for language, but really ’immigrants are going to overwhelm us and destroy out democracy’?

″This is quite extreme language, isn’t it? If you hear that from your own prime minister and you are of an immigrant background, it’s not nice.”

Trevor Phillips attacked the PM on his Sky News programme this morning.
Trevor Phillips attacked the PM on his Sky News programme this morning.

John Walton – PA Images via Getty Images

The clash came after Sunak won backing from MPs for his emergency legislation which is designed to finally allow the government to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.

The prime minister is under huge pressure from the right of his party to bring down the numbers coming to the UK from abroad.

Figures revealed last month that net migration – the difference between those leaving and entering the country – hit 750,000 last year.

That is despite the last Tory election manifesto promising to bring immigration down below 226,000.

Share Button

Rishi Sunak Urged To Ignore Hardliners In Tory Battle Over Human Rights Laws

Posted on by
Reply

A fresh Tory civil war over immigration has erupted after Rishi Sunak was warned not to give in to his right-wing backbenchers by ignoring human rights laws.

The prime minister is planning to unveil emergency legislation within days to ensure deportation flights to Rwanda finally get off the ground after the Supreme Court ruled the policy was illegal last month.

Members of different groups of right-wing Tory MPs are joining forces to pile pressure on Sunak to opt out of European Convention on Human Rights rulings on asylum cases as a way of preventing that happening again.

They are prepared to vote against the government bill if they do not think it goes far enough.

But in a fresh headache for the PM, the One Nation Caucus of moderate Tory MPs has warned him it would be “a mistake” to ignore the ECHR.

The group’s chair, Damian Green, said: “The UK has for generations been a world-leader on human rights. We have set the standard on what a law-abiding, well-functioning democracy should look like.

“Successive Conservative governments have played a vital role in creating and protecting the ECHR as well as the refugee and torture conventions. We have continued to hold these treaties dear and they should be seen as a fundamental part of protecting the UK’s democratic legacy.”

Green, who was Theresa May’s de facto deputy when she was prime minister, added: “The government should think twice before overriding both the ECHR and Human Rights Act and not rush such long term, difficult decisions.”

Matt Warman, another member of the One Nation Caucus, said: “Overriding the ECHR is a red line for a number of Conservatives.

“Protecting and reforming institutions and upholding human rights should be the cornerstone of any Conservative government.”

The row comes as James Cleverly became the third Tory home secretary to sign an agreement with the Rwandan government over the deportation plan.

Priti Patel first announced the controversial policy in April 2022, but since then not a single asylum seeker has been sent to the east African country.

The new treaty seeks to address the concerns raised by the Supreme Court, especially the judges’ concerns that migrants could end up being sent back to their home countries.

Cleverly said: “I am grateful to our Rwandan partners for their willingness, dedication and commitment to strengthening this partnership further.

“The Supreme Court recognised that changes may be delivered which would address their conclusions – this treaty responds directly to that.”

Share Button

James Cleverly Announces Major Crackdown On Migration Following Record Numbers

Posted on by
Reply

Foreign workers will need to earn at least £38,700 to be given a visa to come to the UK under plans to slash net migration.

Home secretary James Cleverly told the House of Commons that the move was part of a five-point plan to bring down the numbers of immigrants coming to the UK by 300,000 a year.

It comes after new figures revealed two weeks ago that 672,000 more people entered the UK than left it in the 12 months to June.

The Tories’ 2019 general election manifesto pledged to bring the figure down to less than 229,000.

Right-wing Tory backbenchers have warned Rishi Sunak that the party could cease to exist unless it keeps its promise to voters.

Cleverly said he was increasing the minimum salary threshold for foreign workers from £26,200 to £38,700, although it will not apply to those coming to work in health and social care.

The minimum income requirement for anyone wanting to move foreign family members with them will also more than double to £38,700.

Overseas care workers will be banned from bringing dependents with them to the UK, while the shortage occupation list, which allows companies to hire overseas workers for 20% less than the going rate, will be scrapped.

The immigration health surcharge, paid by foreigners who use the NHS, will also be increased from £624 to £1,035, while the graduate visa route will also be reviewed amid concerns it is currently being abused.

He told MPs that immigration was “far too high” and that ministers were now “taking more robust action than any government before” to deal with it.

He said the government’s plans would lead to the “biggest ever reduction in net migration” and mean 300,000 a year fewer people coming to the UK in future.

The home secretary added: “We have taken decisive action to reduce legal migration – enough is enough.”

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said Cleverly’s statement was “an admission of total failure for years by the Conservative government – failure on the immigration system and failure on the economy”.

Christina McAnea, general secretary of the Unison trade union, said: “These cruel plans spell total disaster for the NHS and social care. They benefit no one.

“Migrant workers were encouraged to come here because both sectors are critically short of staff. Hospitals and care homes simply couldn’t function without them.

“There’s also a global shortage of healthcare staff. Migrants will now head to more-welcoming countries, rather than be forced to live without their families.

“The government is playing roulette with essential services just to placate its backbenchers and the far-right.”

Share Button

‘We Need Them’: Tory MP Sums Up Why Politicians Have Gone Too Far With Immigration Crackdown

Posted on by
Reply

A Tory MP has called on politicians to be “honest with the public” about why the UK needs immigrants.

Former health minister Steve Brine said there wouldn’t be enough social care workers to “look after your ailing parents” without an influx of foreign labour.

Official figures last week revealed how net migration hit 672,000 in the year to June – three times higher than the government’s target.

Right-wing Conservatives have warned that the party could cease to exist if it fails to bring the number down before the next election.

Rishi Sunak has vowed to “clamp down” on immigration with new measures to reduce the numbers coming to the UK.

But on Times Radio today, Brine said “we need these workers” to do the jobs British people won’t.

And he took aim at former home secretary Suella Braverman, who said the immigration numbers were “a slap in the face to the British public”.

Brine, who is chair of the health and social care select committee, said: “Would that be a slap in the face to the care workers from outside the UK who look after your ailing parents?

“Would it be the Ukrainians that are living among us and contributing to our society, are they the slap in the face? Or would it be the people coming here from British Hong Kong?

“I hear this talk all the time and Labour has fallen into this trap as well. Oh, you know, ‘we need to get to the numbers down’, but which of the groups?”

The Winchester MP added: “We need these workers. We need them, particularly in social care.

“We’ve got around 152,000 vacancies in adult social care. And I just say it again, they are the people who look after your ailing parents and grandparents when families can’t because they’re working. They’re the people that pick up the slack.

“And we need to have a very serious look at ourselves as a society as to what do we actually want to be? Do we do we want to be honest with the public, because we need migration into this country.

“And if we’re just going to slash migration so that we can, you know, meet a political priority, and please the former home secretary then I don’t think we’re serving the society and the economy as we should be.”

Share Button

Union Boss Accuses Reform UK Leader Of ‘Harking Back To The 1940s’ Over Immigration Comments

Posted on by
Reply

The leader of the right-wing Reform UK party has been accused of “harking back to the 1940s” after he said high levels of immigration were “changing the nature of our country”.

Richard Tice clashed with Christine McAnea, general secretary of the Unison trade union, on BBC 1′s ‘Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg’.

The row came after official figures showed net migration – the difference between the numbers entering and leaving the UK – hit 672,000 in the year to June.

Tice said that was “changing the nature of our country, making us poorer financially and it’s making us poorer culturally”.

But McAnea said: “When I hear people saying things like ‘it will affect our country culturally’ – and I’ve heard you say it before – I don’t even know what that means because we are a country where people come from all over the world.

″I’m the grandchild of migrants from Ireland and my culture of probably very different from yours. It’s an appalling way to turn things into a culture war in this country.”

Asked what he meant, Tice replied: “That sense of Britishness, who we are, our heritage, our history, our Christian values and ethos. That is the base of our single British culture and that’s what we want people to unify under.

“We welcome sensible levels of immigration, but mass immigration – people living in silos, different cultures, is not good for our country.”

McAnea hit back: “This is like harking back to the 1940s or 1950s.”

But Tice said that was “absolute nonsense”.

Share Button

Tory MPs Have Warned The Party Could Cease To Exist If It Breaks This Manifesto Pledge

Posted on by
Reply

Tory MPs have warned the party could cease to exist if it breaks its pledge to cut immigration before the next election.

Members of the New Conservatives group said the party faced a “do or die” moment after new figures showed net migration had trebled since 2019.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 672,000 more people entered the UK than left it in the 12 months to June.

The Tories’ 2019 general election manifesto pledged to bring it down to less than 229,000.

In a statement published on X (formerly Twitter), the New Conservatives said the party could not afford to break that “solemn promise”.

“The word existential has been used a lot in recent days, but this really is ‘do or die’ for our party,” they said.

“Each of us made a promise to the electorate. We don’t believe that such promises can be ignored.”

The group, which is largely made up of MPs in the Red Wall seats the Tories won from Labour at the last election, called on the government to produce “a comprehensive package of measures to meet the manifesto promise by the time of the next election”.

They added: “The prime minister, chancellor and new home secretary must show that they stand by the promises on which we were elected to parliament. We must act now.”

Miriam Cates, on of the members of the group, said: “Today’s UK migration figures are astounding: a million new people from abroad were added to our population last year. There is simply no democratic consent for this.

“Attempts to reduce NHS waiting times or solve the housing crisis are futile unless we drastically reduce numbers.”

The Times reported that the PM is looking to announce new plans to curb migration over the next week because of fury on the Tory backbenches over the issue.

Sky News reported that home secretary James Cleverly had promised the government was still “completely committed to reducing levels of legal migration, while also focusing relentlessly” on illegal migration.

From July 2019 to June 2023, the total estimated UK net migration stood at over 1.6 million.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has also estimated that an extra 150,000 migrants would arrive in the next five years – adding around 1.5 million people to the population by 2028-29.

Share Button

Keir Starmer Says He Would Scrap The Rwanda Scheme Even If It Is Legal And Working

Posted on by
Reply

Keir Starmer has vowed to axe the government’s Rwanda policy even if it is ruled legal and shown to be working.

The Labour leader said he would introduce a “pragmatic plan” to deal with the problem of small boats carrying asylum seekers across the English Channel if he becomes prime minister.

The Supreme Court will this week beginning hearing the government’s case as to why their plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda does not breach international law.

But appearing on the BBC this morning, Starmer said the scheme would be axed if Labour wins the next election.

Asked by presenter Victoria Derbyshire if he would scrap it even if the Supreme Court rules it is legal and it reduces the number of small boat crossings, Starmer said: “Yes. I believe it’s the wrong policy, it’s hugely expensive, it’s a tiny number of individuals who would go to Rwanda.”

Derbyshire replied: “Even if everybody can see that it’s working, the criminal gangs are declining, fewer people are getting in those boats, fewer people are drowning, you would still reverse it?”

Starmer said: “We’ve been told time and again by the government, even saying that they’ve got a Rwanda scheme would reduce the numbers – that hasn’t happened.”

The Labour leader said the small boat crossing would only stop once the criminal gangs organising the journeys are “smashed”.

He added: “As a pragmatist, I want a pragmatic plan that is actually going to fix this problem, not rhetoric which has got this government absolutely nowhere.”

Share Button

‘Just Another Gimmick’: Government Slammed Over Plan To Put Electronic Tags Immigrants

Posted on by
Reply

Government plans to put electronic tags on immigrants to prevent them from absconding have been slammed as “just another gimmick” by Labour.

Home secretary Suella Braverman this morning refused to rule out the move, which was reported by The Times and the Daily Telegraph.

Asked about the plan on Sky News, Braverman said the government “needed to exercise a level of control” of migrants.

She added: “We are exploring all options to ensure that we have that level of control over people so that they can flow through our system swiftly to enable us to thereafter remove them from the United Kingdom.”

But shadow employment minister Justin Madders accused the Home Office of planning to treat asylum seekers like “criminals”.

He said: “The only people you tag are criminals, so my understanding is that people who are coming into this country seeking asylum are not criminals, they’re usually people fleeing persecution.

“If there’s a problem absconding this is the first I’ve heard about it and clearly the solution to that is to get on and process the asylum applications a lot quicker than is happening and this is just another gimmick that is not dealing with the root of the problem at all.”

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, told The Times: “It’s treating people as objects rather than vulnerable men, women and children in search of safety, who should be treated with compassion and humanity.”

The plan was even called into question by right-wing Tory MP John Redwood.

He told Times Radio: “I would need to be persuaded about the role of the electronic tag.

“I’m grateful for the clarification that it’s only going to apply to those who have been found to be illegal migrants. I think the bigger problem is to work out how many people in the system are illegal migrants and therefore need a safe place to return them to, and how many are asylum seekers.”

Share Button

‘We Have Failed’: Lee Anderson Admits Tory Government Migration Chaos

Posted on by
Reply

Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson has admitted his party has “failed” to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats, despite Rishi Sunak’s pledge to end the journeys.

He said the situation was now “out of control” and that the Conservative government was to blame.

Anderson’s comments, in an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News, followed the row over his claim that migrants who do not want to board the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset should “fuck off back to France”.

He said: “I’m not going to sit here and make excuses to anyone. This is out of control.

“We’re in power at the moment, I’m the deputy chair of the Conservative Party, we’re in government and we have failed on this – there’s no doubt about it.

“We’ve said we’re going to fix it, it is a failure.”

Anderson insisted the Tories had policies in place to tackle the issue, but he added: “I know it’s a bit hard for the British public at the moment to actually understand what we’re trying to do with the Rwanda flights and the Illegal Migration Bill and it seems very slow, it’s cumbersome.

“We’re up against it Nigel, let’s be honest. We’ve got the lefty lawyers, we’ve got the human rights campaigners, we’ve got the charities – everything’s against us, but I’m not making excuses.”

His comments are a further blow to Sunak in a week that was meant to showcase the government’s attempts to stop the boats.

Instead, they have been forced to deny plans to deport migrants to Ascension Island, while they also face legal challenges over the Bibby Stockholm, which has been dubbed a “quasi-prison” by opponents.

Share Button