Conservative voters say net migration should be cut to tens of thousands, polls show

Statistics show net migration has reached 685,000 under Rishi Sunak and James Cleverley, the home secretary. Photo: STEPHAN RUSSO/AFP

New polls show net migration must be cut to tens of thousands, a large majority of Tory voters say.

The Tory manifestos of 2015 and 2017 promised to reduce the annual rate of internal migration to less than 100,000, although David Cameron and Theresa May failed to meet this commitment and it was rescinded by Boris Johnson.

Official statistics published last week showed net migration had reached 685,000 under Rishi Sunak and James Cleverley, the home secretary , in calendar year 2023, slightly below the record high of 764,000 in 2022.

A poll of 2,191 British adults by People Polling found that among Conservative voters surveyed in 2019, 85 per cent supported reducing overall net migration to tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands.

60 -four per cent of voters- Conservatives said they «strongly agree» with introducing a five-figure limit, while another 21 percent said they «tend to agree.»

The Prime Minister's flagship deportation scheme from Rwanda was recently praised by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Photo: SIMON DAWSON/No. 10 DOWNING STREET

Writing for The Telegraph last month, Robert Jenrick, who was Mr Sunak's immigration minister before he left, feared the Rwanda plan would not work and said the cap net migration of less than 100,000 per year was the only way to restore voter confidence.

Mr Jenrick detailed his proposals in a talk with Neil O'Brien and accused the post-Brexit Conservative government of showing «two fingers» to the British public by liberalizing migration.

It's a blow for both main parties. who sought to make border control an election issue, half of all voters (49 percent) said they did not believe either would reduce immigration.

Twelve percent said they would trust a Labor government with Sir. Keir Starmer needs to reduce the number of candidates as Prime Minister, while only nine per cent share the same view of a Conservative government with Sunak remaining in Downing Street.

The poll was commissioned by the Center for Migration Research, which will release a report this week outlining the concerns of Tory voters as the general election campaign gathers pace.

He also found that 49 per cent of all voters — and 76 per cent of Conservative voters — support a «freeze» of all migration except where it is «essential» for the NHS.

Richard Tice's Reform Party pledged to pursue a “net zero immigration” policy that would see a moratorium on all non-essential migration to the UK.

The number of Channel crossings has topped 10,000, according to the latest Home Office figures. Photo: STEVE FINN

Kicking off his general election campaign on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said Labor would make Britain a «magnet for every illegal immigration in Europe» by refusing from his flagship Rwandan deportation scheme.

Mr Sunak did so last week after a trip to Austria, where the country's leader Karl Nehammer praised Rwanda's plan as a model to follow.

But Labor argues the program is a waste of money and will instead fund the creation of a new Border Security Command.

The number of Channel crossings this year has topped 10,000 after Home Office data showed that another 288 people made the trip on five small boats on Friday, bringing the preliminary total for 2024 to 10,170.