Theresa May gets tough on migration explosion and backs 100,000 target limit in Conservative manifesto — but recent figure is 273,000
PM rebuffed one of her closest Cabinet allies by signalling a vow to reduce net migration to 'tens of thousands'
THERESA May rebuffed one of her closest Cabinet allies by signalling a pledge to reduce net migration to “tens of thousands” will be in the Tories’ manifesto.
The slap down came after Culture Secretary Karen Bradley made the first major gaffe of the election campaign by saying control of our borders was “not about the numbers”.
Mrs May instead maintained her support for bringing the difference between the number of people coming to live in the UK each year and those leaving to below 100,000.
The most recent set of official figures has the number at 273,000.
And although it has fallen since the EU Referendum result last June, it is still some way from the Government’s target.
The pledge was first made by David Cameron in the run-up to the 2010 General Election. Mrs May stuck by it after she became PM, despite failing to meet it during six years as Home Secretary.
There had been a flurry of speculation that it would be dropped from the Conservatives’ manifesto ahead of the election on June 8.
On Wednesday, Home Secretary Amber Rudd refused to say whether it would be included.
But speaking on the campaign trail in North London yesterday, Mrs May said: “It’s important that we have net migration that is in sustainable numbers. We believe sustainable numbers are the tens of thousands.
“Leaving the European Union enables us to control our borders in relation to people coming from within the EU, as well as outside.”
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The PM was forced to confront the issue after Mrs Bradley told Sky News: “What we need is to have the right people; to attract the brightest and best.
“It’s not about putting numbers on it, it’s about making sure we can deliver where industries need skills, where the brightest and best want to come to Britain.”
Her spokesman played down the clanger, insisting the former Home Office minister was not speculating about what might be in the manifesto and that the Government’s commitment had not changed.
He said: “As the Prime Minister said yesterday, we are committed to reducing net migration to sustainable levels.
“We have always been clear that that means the tens of thousands.
“We’ve always been clear that we need an immigration system that attracts the brightest and the best and gives this country the skills it needs, as Karen said this morning.”
The PM’s spokesman also shut down Mrs Bradley’s early morning blunder before Mrs May later spoke in support of the pledge.
She also used her trip to radar manufacturer Kelvin Hughes Ltd, in Enfield, to hit out at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
And she said: “This election is about ensuring that we have strong and stable leadership in this country in the national interest.
“It’s about strengthening our negotiating power for Brexit, and it’s about sticking to our plan for a stronger Britain, developing a more secure future for ordinary working people in this country.”
But the Tories yesterday were under pressure from Ukip over wobbling on immigration. The anti-EU party said: “Trusting Theresa May and the Tories to control immigration is as safe a bet as expecting pub team from the Dog and Duck to win the World Cup!”
And its immigration spokesman John Bickley said: “As Home Secretary and now PM, Theresa May promised to reduce immigration to tens of thousands, a promise that has completely and utterly failed.
“Then we have a Cabinet minister saying immigration is ‘not about numbers’. If we don’t control the numbers, we control nothing.”
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