Rishi Sunak is facing a growing revolt over immigration after senior Tories backed a cabinet minister’s call for a crackdown on foreign NHS staff.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has piled fresh pressure on the prime minister after shock figures showed net migration hit a new record of 745,000 last year, sparking a furious row within his own party.
Mr Jenrick – an ally of sacked home secretary Suella Braverman – is pushing for a cap on the number of NHS and social care visas that are issued, along with a ban on foreign care workers bringing dependants to the UK.
Senior Tories including former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith backed Mr Jenrick’s plan, which is being resisted by some in the cabinet due to the potential impact on the NHS.
Others in the cabinet are keen to see the detail of the proposals, with one cabinet source telling The Independent the 745,000 figure was “beyond unsustainable”.
Tory MPs on the right of the party say they are “encouraged” by Mr Jenrick’s stance.
A furious row erupted within the Conservatives when the figures were published on Thursday, with Ms Braverman describing them as a “slap in the face”.
Mr Sunak himself warned immigration levels were “too high” on Friday. The government is considering ways to cut the numbers, with No 10 saying ministers would leave “no stone unturned”.
But no announcement is expected imminently as ministers mull the options.
The prime minister also faces pressure on the issue from Labour figures. David Blunkett, the former Labour home secretary, hit out at the numbers as he described the immigration system as “out of control”.
Mr Duncan Smith said he was supportive of Mr Jenrick’s proposals as he also called on ministers to incentivise investment in new technology and training.
“Couple the two together, [and] you will be tougher on bringing people in, but you've got to tell [businesses] they’ve got to change,” said Sir Iain.
Tory MP Tom Hunt, a leading member of the New Conservatives, said he was also “supportive of Jenrick’s approach” to crack down on visas.
Ms Braverman’s mentor, senior Tory MP John Hayes, who is head of the right-wing Common Sense Group, said Mr Jenrick’s ideas were “very encouraging”, adding that the immigration minister was a “true believer” in big changes.
He told The Independent: “Robert is absolutely right – these ideas can be implemented without delay... It’s good that Robert is a true believer.”
He also urged Mr Jenrick and Mr Sunak to “go further” and consider a more radical cap on overall numbers. “You need an Australia-style overall annual cap on net migration – it could be agreed each year in parliament,” he said.
Senior Tory Miriam Cates, co-founder of the right-wing New Conservatives group, also called for an “Australian-style” overall cap on net migration numbers, claiming the Home Office was handing out visas “like sweets”.
“Failing to deliver on this issue is more serious than failing to cut taxes or taking too long to build hospitals – mass migration is changing the nature of Britain forever,” Ms Cates wrote in the Telegraph. “For there to be any hope of restoring trust, the government must act now.”
Boris Johnson also piled the pressure on Mr Sunak in his latest Daily Mail column, calling for minimum salary thresholds for those coming to the UK to be raised to £40,000 or more.
The former Tory PM said “we underestimated the magnetic pull of the UK” to attract large numbers of low-skilled people after Brexit.
Mr Jenrick is understood to be pushing the PM to also scrap the shortage occupation list – jobs where employers struggling to find staff can fill roles with migrant workers.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick— (PA Wire)
The five-point plan would also raise the minimum salary threshold for foreign workers to £35,000 and set a minimum £18,600 income for anyone wanting to bring a spouse to the UK.
Ms Braverman has called for an annual cap on net migration and backs the measures in Mr Jenrick’s plan.
On Friday, Mr Sunak said net migration levels need to “come down to more sustainable levels”. The PM said: “I’m very clear that the levels of migration are too high – I’ve been clear about that.” He pointed to a slight dip in Thursday’s Office for National Statistics figures as a “welcome step”, but said “we’ve got more to go”.
He appeared to dodge the question when asked about Mr Jenrick’s proposals. On Friday morning, work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said the latest immigration figures were "unacceptable” and said “we have been taking action”.
The PM was already said to be preparing a crackdown before the record figures were announced. That included a cut to the number of relatives foreign healthcare workers can bring into the UK to just one, ditching the shortage occupation list, and raising the minimum salary requirement from £26,200 to £31,000.
But as pressure mounts on Mr Sunak to take drastic action, those measures may not be enough to dampen Tory anger.
Rishi Sunak is under pressure to cut legal migration— (Getty Images)
Thursday’s figures revealed that, in total, 1.2 million more people have come to the UK than have left in the past two years.
In that time, 143,990 foreign health and social care workers moved to the UK with a total of 173,896 dependants.
It is estimated that introducing a higher threshold could reduce long-term migration by more than 50,000 people per year.
The government’s migration advisory committee has already recommended the scrapping of the shortage occupation list amid fears it is being used to bring cheap foreign labour into the UK.
