Labour and the Tories are under pressure from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK to come forward with a credible plan in the wake of record-breaking net migration numbers.
Reform blasted the Conservatives as the “architects of mass immigration” but Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp says Kemi Badenoch has the “courage” to take a bold “new approach” to the challenge.
He said: “These changes will be radical, but there is no alternative.”
This comes days after official figures showed net migration reached 906,000 in the 12 months to June 2023. In the subsequent 12 months, 728,000 more people entered than left the UK.
Mr Philp said: “Labour cannot be trusted to get this under control. Their approach to immigration is to kowtow to lefty lawyers and demonise those who speak out about the impacts of unfettered immigration.”
But deputy Reform leader Richard Tice said: “More people entered the UK under one year of Tory rule than the entire population of Leeds. The Tories are the architects of mass immigration and can never be trusted ever again.
“Only Reform will end the failed mass immigration experiment.”
Labour claims it is restoring order to a “broken immigration system”, noting that net migration is “four times higher than it was before the pandemic”. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged to “tackle the big increase in overseas recruitment”.
Former Conservative security minister Sir John Hayes said there should be a target of “net zero” immigration so the number entering the country roughly matches the total of those leaving.
He warned of a “permanent housing crisis” if the number coming to the UK does not fall.
Both David Cameron and Theresa May pledged to get net migration down to the “ten of thousands”. Sir John said the failure to deliver on this target was “highly significant” in contributing to the Tories’ disastrous election result this summer.
He said: “Because of that failure we have to be much more radical to regain distrust which is why I’m suggesting we opt for a net zero approach.”
Alp Mehmet of Migration Watch said: “The Tories will struggle to regain trust on immigration after 14 years of repeated failure and reneging on promises to reduce it. Having accepted that they screwed up, they will now not only have to come up with policies on how to reduce net migration – we believe, to zero – but also be convincing on how it’s to be done.”