What is the real difference between the two main parties on immigration? Not much, if today’s Prime Minister’s Questions was anything to go by. Both parties say they want to drive net migration down, both accuse the other of not really wanting to do this and of letting things get out of control, and both find the subject compelling and uncomfortable all at once.
Keir Starmer chose to lead on the highly anticipated net migration figures due out tomorrow. They are expected to show a record high in the number of people coming to this country. Ministers have been getting their excuses and defences in early, including with the announcement of new curbs on visas for the dependants of overseas postgraduate students.
Both parties are struggling to convince voters that they have the will and ability to control migration
The Labour leader opened by asking how many work visas were issued to foreign workers last year. In his second question, he told the Prime Minister that the figures for this were already out: 250,000. He added that he and the front bench all stood on manifestos promising lower migration: ‘So why does he think his Home Secretary seems to have such a problem coping with points-based systems?’
This was one of a number of speeding jokes that Starmer wove into his attacks, including later that ‘speeding into the void left by the Prime Minister comes the Home Secretary’ and that what Sunak needed was not a speed awareness course but a reality check. The Labour leader couldn’t attack on the row about Suella Braverman’s speeding penalty because it has been largely resolved, but also presumably because most voters care more about her ability to do her job and meet those promises on net migration.
Sunak’s defence was that Starmer shouldn’t be questioning him on migration when his own view was that there should be more migrants anyway. ‘Just this week we announced the biggest ever single measure to tackle legal migration, removing the right for international students to bring dependents, toughening the rules on post-study work and reviewing maintenance requirements. But what is the honourable gentleman’s contribution? There are absolutely no ideas, there is no, no, no, absolutely no idea, absolutely no… that there would be any control because he believes in an open door migration policy.’ He later quoted an unnamed Labour frontbencher (Anneliese Dodds) ‘who said having a target wasn’t sensible and that the numbers might have to go up’.
The Prime Minister moved into talking about the IMF upgrading its growth forecasts for the UK, saying Starmer didn’t want to mention that. He also said that reading results were the best in the western world and that ambulance waiting times were coming down – clearly a prepared set of lines to counter the more regular Labour attack that the Tories have run down the economy and public services.
Both parties are struggling to convince voters that they have the will and ability to control migration. But what will probably cause Sunak more trouble from this session than the answers he gave to Starmer is that he began by assuring Labour MP Sharon Hodgson that Michael Gove had announced an investigation into the Teesworks project in the Teesside freeport – when no such inquiry has been announced. The row over the financing of this scheme has been bubbling along for a while, and Sunak doesn’t seem fully up to speed with what’s going on. That may have to change quite quickly.
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