Monday 10 June 2024

In the BBC multi-party debate this past Friday night, senior political figures from seven parties (the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Scottish National Party, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Green Party, and Reform UK) argued in favour of their policies on immigration and asylum in the UK. This broadcast was the last debate before policies will solidify during ‘Manifesto Week’. Where possible, we have included information regarding manifesto release dates below and will analyse manifestos in due course.

Following a question in which an audience member stated that he thinks ‘immigration is partly to blame’ for problems such as housing shortages, NHS GP availability, and busier roads, SNP leader in the House of Commons Stephen Flynn sympathised with the pressures of underlying issues in communities. Nevertheless, he countered that ‘migration is absolutely essential to our public services.’ Flynn called for the end of demonisation of migration and noted that the demographic crisis in Scotland would benefit from increased levels of economic migrants.

Reform UK leader and outspoken critic of migration Nigel Farage called for zero net migration for ‘the next few years’ to combat issues communities face. Farage noted that ‘for 50 years, net migration was 30,000 to 40,000 a year. This ought to be the immigration election.’

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorweth identified Nigel Farage’s interest in an immigration election as self-interest and called for a change in tone regarding immigration policy debate. He critiqued both the Conservative and Labour parties as fearing the potential impact of Reform’s immigration platform. Plaid Cymru will publish its manifesto on Thursday 13 June 2024.

Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt acknowledged that, whilst the current campaign may be an immigration election, it is ‘definitely going to be a cost-of-living election’ and emphasised the fiscal benefits of a further five years of Conservative government. Mordaunt agreed that immigration to the UK is too high and requires a balance between converging issues through enacting an annual cap on migration numbers. This policy will likely be heavily focused on in the upcoming Conservative Party manifesto, with further details expected this week.

Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour Party, noted that the Conservative Party had trebled net migration over the past 14 years and identified issues with housing, the NHS, and roads due to Conservative policies rather than primarily due to immigration. Rayner emphasised that a Labour government would scrap the Rwanda scheme, establish a new Border Force command to combat smuggler gangs and focus efforts on an industrial and skills strategy to train British workers in under-subscribed sectors. The Labour Party has previously announced these policies in its migration strategy, but further details are expected in the manifesto this week.

Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper, echoed Rayner’s points that public services issues faced by communities should be attributed to Conservative policies over the past 14 years. She emphasised that the Liberal Democrats would increase the minimum wage for care workers by £2 per hour to encourage domestic uptake and invite foreign workers to fill skills gaps. The Liberal Democrats were the first party to release their manifesto, which is available here. We will release an analysis of these proposals tomorrow.

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer distinguished her party’s immigration and asylum policies from those of her colleagues on stage. These policies focus not on numbers but on making the immigration system fairer and more humane. The Green Party manifesto will be released on Wednesday 12 June 2024.

Get in touch

To learn more about upcoming changes to UK immigration law, please refer to our website, contact your assigned LDI lawyer, or email enquiries@lauradevine.com.