Tories urge Sunak to cut migration amid record Channel crossings
A group of Tory MPs have launched an alternative Conservative manifesto urging Rishi Sunak to slash migration figures amid a record number of Channel crossings in small boats.
The New Conservatives group say their 12-point plan would see net migration down by around 400,000 before the next election and warn the PM “risks eroding public trust”.
MPs, including Miriam Cates, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Jonathan Gullis, Danny Kruger and Lia Nici want Sunak to end care work visas, raise salary cut offs and cap refugee arrival figures.
Written by Tory MP Tom Hunt, the report claims Brits did not vote for mass migration, and without “swift action” the Tory party will “further erode the trust” of scores of 2019 voters.
Deputy party chairman Lee Anderson is also understood to be part of the group, but cannot officially endorse external policy proposals due to his CCHQ role.
The move comes as further pressure is heaped onto Sunak, with June migrant crossings at a new high of 3,824, and the 2023 total so far over 11,000, according to the Home Office.
‘Stop the boats’
It also marks almost six months since the PM vowed to ‘stop the boats’ as one of his five flagship pledges to the public as Prime Minister, which are now being widely questioned.
The Times warned the goals which “appeared almost unmissable are now in serious doubt” with inflation proving stubborn and economic growth microscopic.
Peers debating ministers’ landmark Illegal Migration Bill also delivered a series of blows to the government including: detention limits for pregnant women and children and preventing LGBT+ people being sent to countries such as Rwanda where they may face persecution.
Members in the House of Lords have also already demanded asylum help for children, changes to modern slavery safeguards and called for a ban on backdating deportations.
Ministers say action is needed to stop migrants making the dangerous Channel crossing but critics argue the legislation breaks international law and denies refuge to the vulnerable.
The setbacks to the Bill raise the prospect of a prolonged tussle between the unelected chamber and the government during so-called parliamentary ping-pong, when legislation moves between the Lords and Commons.