The Home Secretary's intervention comes after days of criticism of Mr. Sunak by some Conservative MPs, many of whom are prominent supporters of Boris Johnson Photo: JESSICA TAYLOR/UK PARLIAMENT/AFP via Getty Images
Suella Braverman will demand that Rishi Sunak deliver on the Conservatives' manifesto promise to cut net migration so Britain doesn't forget how to 'do something for yourself'.
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The Home Secretary will use a speech at the National Conference of Conservatism on Monday to argue that «it's not xenophobic to say mass and rapid migration is unsustainable» amid a split in the cabinet over the scale of immigration following the Brexit vote.
In 2019, the Tories committed to lowering the total number of migrants, but official data is expected to show net migration close to 700,000 in a few weeks, and analysis suggests it could top a million this year.
Ms Braverman's intervention comes after days of criticism of Mr Sunak by some Conservative MPs, many of whom are prominent supporters of Boris Johnson, who are unhappy that the prime minister has reneged on a promise to repeal all EU laws by the end of 2023 and watched the loss of over 1,000 Conservative council members in that month's local elections.
Mr Sunak put economic growth and productivity gains in the UK, which has lagged behind other major economies for years, at the center of his speech to voters. However, the government is struggling to convince workers who have left their jobs during the pandemic to return, and senior Tories fear that immigration is seen as a quick fix for jobs.
1205 UK Total Net Migration
In her speech on Monday, Ms Braverman will say: “I voted and campaigned for Brexit because I wanted the UK to control migration. So that we all have an opinion about what works for our country. Highly skilled workers support economic growth. Fact.
“But we need to reduce the total number of immigrants. And we must not forget how to do things for ourselves.
“There is no good reason why we cannot train enough truck drivers, butchers or fruit pickers. Brexit allows us to build a highly skilled, high-wage economy that is less dependent on low-skilled foreign labor. This was our promise in the 2019 manifesto and what we must deliver on.”
However, there is disagreement in the Cabinet over the approach to reduce legal migration.
Ms Braverman has pushed for limits on the number of dependents international students can bring to the UK, but the package is believed to have been relaxed after opposition from Gillian Keegan, education minister.
Some senior cabinet ministers also are calling for an increase in the £26,000 wage cap required for foreign work visas as too low, although no hard proposals have yet been made.
The final decision on how to restrict international students from taking on dependents, which have skyrocketed in recent years, is now tied to Mr. Sunak.
1,205 student visas
In their 2019 election manifesto, the Conservatives did not reiterated David Cameron's pledge to bring net migration — the number of people moving to the UK less those in the UK moving abroad — below 100,000. But there was a promise that «the total numbers will decrease.»
The opposite happened. Annual net migration peaked at 331,000 ahead of the Brexit vote in 2016. It reached 504,000 in the year to June 2022, and analysis by migration experts suggests the number could rise to 997,000 when official figures are released in the coming weeks.
The number of people moving from European Union, slowed down when the UK left the bloc and «free movement» rules no longer apply. But a surge in the number of work and student visas issued to foreigners, as well as the admission of Ukrainian refugees and Hong Kong citizens, are fueling growth.
Mr. Sunak has been focusing on illegal migration since reaching No. 10 in October, naming passing laws to reduce the number of small boats crossing the English Channel as one of his top five priorities for the year. He is now under increasing pressure to also develop a plan to limit legal migration.
1,205 annual visas
Further criticism of Mr. Sunak's leadership is expected at the three-day National Conference on Conservatism.
< p>Jacob Rees-Mogg, also speaking on Monday, will say: “Rishi Sunak has made a specific promise to repeal thousands of EU laws. He broke it. This is unfortunate, since one of its supposed virtues is its reliability, and succumbing to the drop risks exposing the government to ridicule. It also risks making us poorer.”
Priti Patel, another former senior Johnson cabinet minister, used a weekend speech to blame the current Conservative leadership for the massive local election defeat.
series of interviews on Sunday, but acknowledged that Mr. Sunak's five promises for this year are «difficult» to keep.
Five promises: halve inflation in 2023, keep the economy growing, reduce public debt, reduce waiting lists for the National Health Service and enact new laws to ban small boats.
Mel Stride, Secretary of Labor and Pensions, said last week that 2% could be removed from the base income tax rate if the 400,000 people who left their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic return to work.
Ms. Braverman, who emerged as a leading figure on the Conservative Party's right after running for leadership last year, left the Liz Truss cabinet amid a row over the then prime minister's proposals to increase legal immigration.
«I reject the proposals of the left.» argument'
Ms. Braverman will also say in her speech: “To say that mass and rapid migration is unsustainable in terms of housing supply, services and social relations is not xenophobic.
” And this not fanaticism. to say that too many people come here illegally and seek asylum, and we don't have enough housing for them.
“I'm not ashamed to say that I love Britain. No true conservative is. Wanting to control our borders for anyone, whether ethnic minority or otherwise, is not racism.
“I reject the argument of the left that knowledge of these facts by a person from an ethnic minority is hypocritical; to speak these truths.
“My parents came here as a result of legal and controlled migration. They spoke the language. They merged with society, adopted British values. When they arrived, they signed up to participate in our common project, because the UK meant something to them. The integration was a quid pro quo.”
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