George Osborne uses Evening Standard to have another dig Theresa May over ‘rash’ immigration target that HE supported
The ex-Chancellor claimed that no senior ministers were in support of the target
GEORGE OSBORNE has called on Theresa May to ditch the Tory target to slash net migration to below 100,000 a year – a policy that HE used to support.
In another example of the former Chancellor using the newspaper he edits to have a crack at the PM, Mr Osborne said the pledge was “rash and economically illiterate”.
In an editorial for the Evening Standard today, it claimed that the Cabinet had assumed she would dump the “perverse” pledge – because NONE of the senior members support it.
The PM promised to stick to the promise during a campaign event last week – and vowed it would be in the manifesto.
Today’s editorial said: “It remains a mystery why the Prime Minister has recommitted her party to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands a year.
“She didn’t need to make this political rash and economically illiterate move.”
It went on to say: “You would assume that Mrs May would jump at the chance to bury the pledge.”
“That’s what her Cabinet assumed; none of its senior members supports the pledge in private and all would be glad to see the back of something that has caused the Conservative Party such public grief.”
The ex MP, who has now stood down as the member for Tatton, used his first front page as Editor to twist the knife into the PM over Brexit – and called her election campaign “no more than a slogan”.
The paper’s main story reported the relationship between Brussels and Downing Street going downhill after Jean Claude Juncker mocked Mrs May.
And he tweeted out a political cartoon featuring the PM as Big Ben – chiming “strong and stable!”
Theresa May famously sacked the former Chancellor George Osborne when she became PM last summer after David Cameron was forced to quit following the referendum result.
And Nigel Farage seized on the revelations today.
He told: “In admitting that the Tories never planned to keep their promises on immigration, and that the Cabinet does not even support reducing migration, I suspect for once George Osborne has got something right.”
The remarks could also fly in the face of Acoba, the body which keeps an eye on ministers who leave Government.
They are technically banned from using privileged information gained from their time in office – but it seems not to have stopped Mr Osborne here.
David Cameron made the promise to slash net migration to below that amount while he was in Opposition – but the Tories have stuck to it.
It has yet to be met, however, and the last set of figures showed 273,000 still came to the UK last year.
It was at the heart of the Brexit campaign – as free movement from the EU has seen the numbers increase.
Mrs May promised last week that it would definitely be on the cards – despite reports of cabinet ministers saying the promise was all but dead.
“We want to bring down net migration – we believe that is the tens of thousands,”the PM said.
“Once we leave the European Union we will have the opportunity to have control of our borders in the UK… that’s a part of the picture we haven’t been able to control before.”
A new Immigration Bill – setting out migration policy post Brexit – is due in the coming months.
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley had also cast doubt on the target last month when she claimed it was “not about putting numbers on it” but ensuring Britain had access to skilled migration.