British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, amidst the backdrop of an upcoming election, has pledged to impose new annual caps on work and family visas to curb immigration, a move that comes in response to the opposition’s stance on the critical issue.
Sunak’s proposal, unveiled on Monday, entails establishing parliamentary-set annual limits on the number of visas issued. This initiative, forecasted to be defeated by Labour’s Keir Starmer in the forthcoming July election, marks an attempt to differentiate the Conservative party’s stance from that of its rivals.
Migration has emerged as a highly contentious issue in this election cycle, with net migration reaching 685,000 last year—an elevation deemed excessive by both major political factions. Although lower than 2022 figures, last year’s net migration remained approximately three times higher than in 2019 when the Tories clinched victory on a promise to reduce migrant numbers.
Over the weekend, Starmer outlined Labour’s strategy to reduce regular migration, including measures such as prohibiting employers who flout labor laws from hiring foreign workers and mandating prioritization of British workers for training.
Ahead of a head-to-head debate slated for Tuesday, where Starmer and Sunak will spar over key issues for the first time during their campaigns, Sunak’s latest policy maneuver aims to distinguish his party’s stance from Labour’s.
“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,” Sunak stated, emphasizing the Conservatives’ commitment to enact stringent measures to curb immigration figures.
The proposed annual cap, to be progressively reduced each year, will exempt foreign students and seasonal workers from its restrictions. Notably, the number of work visas issued has more than doubled since 2019, exceeding 300,000 in the year ending March 2024, according to official data.
This year, the Tory government has introduced new regulations targeting regular immigration, including restrictions on international students and social care workers bringing dependents, as well as raising the minimum salary threshold for skilled worker visas.
Despite the government’s efforts to curb irregular migration through initiatives like the scheme to deport failed asylum seekers to Rwanda—a plan that Sunak concedes will not be implemented before the election—Labour’s shadow home minister Yvette Cooper has dismissed the proposed policy as a “meaningless announcement.”
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