MP, Labour’s Shadow Home
Secretary, asked an Urgent Question in the House of
Commons today, for the government to make a statement on the
recent net migration figures. She said:
"Where is the Home Secretary? And what on earth is going on?
The media were briefed that he was going to make a statement on
net migration yesterday. Or today. But nothing. And he’s nowhere.
The Immigration Minister has been everywhere, madly briefing all
his ideas, but who speaks for the government?
Net migration figures are now three times the level they were at
the 2019 General Election when the Conservatives promised to
reduce them.
That includes a 65 per cent increase in work migration this year
- that reflects a complete failure by the Conservatives on both
the economy and on immigration.
The Immigration Minister is complaining today but he’s going to
be furious when he discovers who’s been in charge of the
immigration system for the last 13 years.
Net migration should come down.
Immigration is important for Britain and always will be, but the
immigration system needs to be properly controlled and managed,
so it is fair and effective, and is properly linked to the
economy.
Net migration for work has trebled since 2019 because of their
failure on skills and training, their failure to tackle record
levels of long-term sickness, and people on waiting lists and the
failure to make the system work.
Social care visas have gone up from 3,000 a year to over 100,000
a year, yet ministers cut the programme for recruiting social
care workers here this spring.
Health visas are up but they cut medical training places last
autumn.
Visas for engineers up but engineering apprenticeship completions
in the UK has halved.
So, will the government now agree to Labour’s plan to immediately
get rid of the unfair wage discount which means employers can pay
overseas recruits 20 per cent less than the going rate, and it
prevents training and fair pay in the UK?
Will the government now immediately ask the Migration Advisory
Committee to review salary thresholds for both skilled workers
and shortage occupations, which have not kept up?
And where the MAC has warned repeatedly about low paid
exploitation, will he now link the points-based system to
training and employment standards in the UK, and have a proper
plan for the economy and the immigration system?
They’ve got no serious plan, just ramping up the rhetoric. No
serious plan for the economy, no plan for the immigration system,
and no plan for the country.
Britain deserves better than this."
