General election: Nigel Farage says aim should be ‘zero’ net migration – UK politics live | Politics
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Key events
The Minister of the Interior, James Cleverleywas asked about the Conservatives’ commitment to cap the number of visas.
Asked on BBC Breakfast why they don’t put a number on the annual visa cap, he said:
Well, we know that immigration, legal migration, has been way too high for the last few years.
We have already taken measures which, as your report says, have now begun to reduce these figures, measures which were opposed at the time by the Labor Party.
But we also recognize, as your report says, that there are benefits to migration. My mother came here as a migrant, as did many other people in the UK who have contributed enormously to our society and economy.
But migration – just like any other public policy – comes at a cost, and balancing the benefits and costs is what our new policy will do.
So, for the first time, we will have the Migration Advisory Committee compare the numbers to look at both the benefits and costs of migration levels. The government will then set a cap on the number of visas it will issue that year, something that will then be voted on by parliament.
This will ensure that we properly balance both the number of people coming here and the benefits they bring, but also the costs, whether it’s school places, finding housing, health facilities and so on.
Last month, data of the National Statistical Office showed that total UK migration for 2022 was 606,000, a 24% increase on the previous peak of 488,000 last year.
Rishi Sunak was forced to admit the figure was too high as he was accused by right-wing MPs of abandoning UK border controls after net migration and backlogs of asylum applications hit record levels.
Summary of the opening
Good morning and welcome to our continuing coverage of the 2024 General Election campaign.
Rishi Sunak is ready to propose an annual visa cap to try to reduce immigration ahead of his debate with Keir Starmeron Labor party leader, on ITV tonight.
The Conservatives will propose an annual cap on work and family visas in an effort to try to reduce immigration each year in a future parliament.
The proposed plan would give parliament a direct role in setting migration levels, with MPs voting on the number.
The already-under-pressure prime minister, who according to most polls is on course to lose the July 4 general election, which many now say he called prematurely, is focusing on immigration as an area where the Conservatives feel particularly vulnerable to reforms.
On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Farage said the UK should aim for “zero” net migration – the difference between the number of people arriving and those leaving. We’ll have more for you soon.
Swank’s campaign suffered a major blow yesterday after Farage, the former Ukip and Brexit leader, called a surprise press conference in London to announced his intention to stand as MP in Clacton, Essex and will lead the Reform Party for the next five years.
In a further blow to Sunak, YouGov’s first MRP constituency forecast, before Farage’s announcement, showed Keir Starmer could win a majority of 194, bigger even than Tony Blair’s 179 majority in 1997.
It put Labor on 422 seats (+222 from the 2019 election, based on new constituency boundaries), the Tories on 140 (-232), the Lib Dems on 48 (+40) and the SNP on 17 (-31) . One senior Tory described Farage’s return as an “existential” risk.
Farage suggested his long-term aim was to effectively take over the Conservative Party, which has been in damage-limitation mode since the announcement.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Tuesday that he could not stand for or seek to lead the Conservative Party “as it is now”.
But he added:
You can speculate what will happen in three or four years’ time, all I will tell you is that if the reform succeeds in the way I think it can, then some of the Conservative Party will join us – that is the other way around around.
Here’s a list of what’s on the agenda today:
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Keir Starmer is due to make an energy policy announcement (around 9am) on a campaign visit to the North West
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Labour’s governing body, the National Executive Committee, is expected to meet to back the party’s candidates for the general election.
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James Cleverley and Nigel Farage answer questions on air in the morning rounds.
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Nigel Farage will launch an election campaign in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.
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Liberal Democrat campaign leader Ed Davey is visiting Cheadle this morning and North Shropshire this afternoon.
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Rachel Reeves and Anas Sarwar will be holding a Q&A in Edinburgh with people working in financial services.
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Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer in a general election debate on ITV at 9pm. The debate will be followed at 10.10pm by interviews with leaders of other parties, with the Liberal Democrats, SNP, Reform UK and the Greens invited.
Johannes Lowe is here for the next few hours. I will try to look at as many comments as possible, but if you want to get my attention, please email me yohannes.lowe@theguardian.com.
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