UK elections: PM Sunak vows to introduce immigration cap if re-elected; opposition Labour set for record win
UK PM Rishi Sunak and Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, on Monday (June 3) vowed to introduce a legal cap in a bid to curb immigration levels if he is re-elected in the country’s general elections next month. This comes as Sunak’s ruling Conservative Party, according to a recent opinion poll, is on course to gain the lowest total number of seats in the United Kingdom parliament, in more than a century.
Sunak vows to curb immigration
The UK PM’s party, which is trailing behind in the polls, aimed at one of the main issues in the country ahead of the July 4 general elections, immigration.
Immigration has dominated Britain’s political debate for more than a decade now and also played a significant role in the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
Sunak’s Conservative party said it would announce plans for new annual caps on work and family visas to curb immigration, which involves a new cap on the number of visas that would be set by parliament each year.
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“By capping migration numbers each year, we will ensure that public services are protected and housing is not overburdened, while still bringing the skills our businesses and NHS (National Health Service) need,” said the Conservative party, in a statement.
This comes after his government, earlier this year, introduced new rules to cut legal immigration into the UK by barring international students from bringing in family members and increased the salary threshold for skilled workers.
Last year, Britain’s annual net migration fell to 685,000 after a record high of 764,000 in 2022.
“We have taken bold action to cut the number of people coming to this country. The plan is working but migration levels are still too high, so we are going further,” the statement added.
Notably, the Conservative government’s controversial policy to send asylum seekers who arrive in the UK without permission to Rwanda is currently facing legal and parliamentary obstacles, and now depends on the party’s win in the upcoming election.
Labour set for record win: Opinion poll
A report by opinion pollsters YouGov released on Monday showed that the opposition Labour party is set for its biggest-ever victory in the upcoming election. The party led by Keir Starmer is expected to win by a larger margin than in 1997 under former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
According to the poll, the Labour party is expected to garner 422 seats out of 650 in the country’s parliament, well above the 320 seats needed to secure a majority.
The Conservatives are reportedly expected to get 140 seats. The estimates are based on a multilevel regression and poststratification (MRP) poll which uses big data sets and demographic analysis to predict results in individual seats.
The model also suggests “near wipeout” for Conservatives in many areas across the UK, including London, the North East, the North West, and Wales.
Notably, since the poll was taken before Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage took over the leadership of the rival right-wing Reform Party party and announced that he would run for PM. His candidacy will further hit the Conservative vote.
(With inputs from agencies)