Immigration: Cameron gets his 'ifs and buts' kicked
Despite a chorus of complaints from senior Tories, PM remains 'defiant' about manifesto target
David Cameron will go into the general election with a renewed pledge to cap net immigration, despite serious doubts being raised by a series of Tory grandees and Cabinet ministers.
The PM has the backing of Home Secretary Theresa May, and both are described as “defiant” by The Times.
Some of their own colleagues would choose another D-word - “daft”, perhaps, or “deluded” – given last week’s figures from the Office for National Statistics showing net immigration had risen to 298,000 a year, the equivalent of a couple of small towns.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In short, a new Tory pledge to cap immigration will have all the credibility of Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne pledging once more to give up drink. You know it’s not going to happen.
But May insists in a Times interview: “It is important because it is about not just dealing with those coming into the system but also about making sure that those people who shouldn’t live here actually leave.”
She refused to say exactly how the target would be expressed in the manifesto – presumably her team is working on a better phrasing than Cameron’s original vow on 14 April 2011 to get it down to “tens of thousands … “no ifs, no buts”.
“You will have to wait for the manifesto to see the exact words,” said May. “The idea of the net migration target will still be there. It will be measured [in the same way].”
May also hinted at reintroducing plans to make visitors from “high-risk” countries pay a bond before they are allowed into Britain and insisting that people should leave while immigration appeals are heard – both of which ideas are opposed by the Lib Dems.
May said every Whitehall department was touched by the burdens that come from soaring immigration - from the NHS and housing to roads and schools. Her message is that the rest of the Cabinet will have to pull their fingers out to make this work.
Cameron is reported to be exasperated with Cabinet colleagues who doubt his and May’s ability to honour a fresh target: “Why on earth are the only people who are really committed to our policy me and Theresa May?”
To which the chorus responds: “Because it’s not going to happen, Prime Minister!”
Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable tells The Times: “It was a target that could never be met because there were so many elements of it that you could never control — the most important of which was EU migrants, but also Brits returning from abroad, and asylum.”
Kenneth Clarke, the former Tory Cabinet minister, says the promise should not be repeated: “It would not be possible to achieve it without damaging our economy.”
David Willetts, the former higher education minister, said Cameron should have used Lib Dem resistance as an excuse to drop it. “I thought it got us off an undeliverable commitment.”
Cameron and May do have one supporter for retaining their apparently undeliverable pledge - the Daily Mail.
In an editorial, the Mail says Cameron needs to grasp that “he and the Home Secretary are far from alone. As successive polls have shown, the public are overwhelmingly behind them. For their sake, the answer to past failure is not to scrap the target, but to meet it.”
Or they can vote UKip.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why more men are wearing jewellery
The Week Recommends Pop culture is boosting interest in earrings and necklaces, alongside classic tie pins and lapel pins
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
7 magnificent hotels to visit before the summer crowds descend
The Week Recommends Have beach time in the Dominican Republic or a spa day in Saint-Tropez
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Sheep spray
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
Is David Cameron overshadowing Rishi Sunak?
Talking Point Current PM faces 'thorny dilemma' as predecessor enjoys return to world stage
By The Week UK Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Farewell to Theresa May: a PM consumed by Brexit
Talking Point Maidenhead MP standing down at next general election
By The Week UK Published
-
Can Cameron put the Falklands sovereignty dispute to bed?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary says issue 'not up for discussion' ahead of visit amid renewed push from Argentina
By The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will America recognize a Palestinian state?
Today's Big Question Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the move. Some see it as the only route to peace.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Fasting to burger buffets: the weird and wonderful diets of politicians
Why Everyone's Talking About Rishi Sunak reportedly starts his week with a 36-hour fast
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published