Liz Truss’s immigration conundrum

The Conservatives – in office since 2010 – are now into their fourth successive manifesto pledge to bring down immigration, which remains well over 200,000 annually. Naturally, Liz Truss is said to be weighing up increasing it further. Some of those in the Treasury believe that visa liberalisation is the quickest way to growth. From the Treasury’s perspective, and that of the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, immigrants represent an excellent deal: you don’t have to pay for their education or childhood, instead simply importing units of homogeneous labour fully formed. What’s not to like? Open the borders and watch the line go up!

Home Secretary Suella Braverman disagrees. She would like to cut migration substantially, as would many other Conservative MPs. Truss, already having lost a chancellor over her disastrous mini-budget, appears to believe that the best course of action is to pick yet another fight. Having appointed Braverman to run immigration policy, Truss is now cutting