The manifestos are out ahead of Britain’s general election, due to take place on July 4th. Immigration remains at the forefront of many of the campaigns, with recent stricter measures and policies put in place by the conservatives, becoming a point of contention for many.
The Conservatives, who claim they have already prevented over 26,000 illegal migrants and 30,000 others from entering the UK due to their previous policy, state that they will continue to reduce immigration to a sustainable level. They claim current policies are working, and that the following measures have already prevented a significant number of migrants coming to the UK:
- Ending ability for international students to bring their family with them to the UK
- Removing the shortage occupation list
- Increasing the minimum salary threshold for Skilled Workers by 48%
- Raising minimum income for Skilled Worker to £38,700 if they wish to bring their dependents
- Increasing the Immigration Health Surcharge.
If they are to remain in power, the Tories have stated they will continue and build on this policy to further deter migrants from entering the UK and building up the domestic workforce instead. New proposed measures include:
- Requiring migrants entering the UK to take health checks
- Further increasing visa fees and removing student discounts
- Introduce a binding and legal cap on migration
- Will block any form of free movement to return
https://public.conservatives.com/static/documents/GE2024/Conservative-Manifesto-GE2024.pdf
In turn, the Liberal Democrats have taken a more tolerant approach to the issue of Immigration. Firstly, they wish to remove the ‘damaging’ rules put in place by current government, claiming the harsh rules have removed all safe and legal routes for those seeking sanctuary, separated families and created a hostile environment within the Home Office.
In a bid to create a more effective and fair immigration system that incorporates dignity and respect, the Lib Dems have proposed the following:
- End the hostile environment surrounding the immigration system and the Home Office by investing in officers, training programs and new technology to combat people smuggling and trafficking
- Transfer some policy making to other departments within the government, and not isolating all immigration matters to the Home Office
- Scrap the Rwanda scheme and Illegal Migration act
- Replace the recently reviewed salary threshold requirement for skilled workers, with a flexible merit-based system
- Grow the youth mobility scheme and make it accessible to more.
- Revoke the ‘right to rent’ scheme, which has enabled landlords to have powers like border force officers
- Exempt NHS staff from the £1000 Immigration skills charge
- Reverse the Tories’ increase on the income threshold for those wishing to bring their dependents to the UK.
Whilst Labour’s manifesto provides less detail than others on their plans for the Immigration system, they have claimed that they believe the current economy has become too reliant on overseas skilled workers, and that this must be capped, and home labour must be trained up in order to effectively fill the skills gap.
Stating that migration is reaching record highs, they have proposed to reduce migration levels by introducing restrictions on visas by linking immigration to skills policy. They have claimed they will ‘not tolerate employers or recruitment agencies abusing the visa system’, and companies found to be doing so will be revoked of their right to sponsor workers from the global labour market. Whilst more explicit policies have not been discussed in their manifesto, they have reiterated their aim to end long term reliance on migrant workers, and the need to introduce domestic training plans in sectors experiencing shortages such as social care and construction.
https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Labour-Party-manifesto-2024.pdf