Talking Politics

With the UK general election quickly upcoming and immigration being a key issue discussed within this election, what are the Conservative Party and Labour Party manifestos pledging to do? Ella Weatherburn reports.

Conservative Party

Following the announcement and legislating for the Rwanda Policy whilst in office, the Conservative Party have made pledging lower immigration a key fundamental aspect of their manifesto.

In their plan to control immigration and stop “illegal” immigration it includes policies such as;

• Removing illegal migrants to Rwanda as a deterrent,
• Introducing the Illegal Migration Act to clear the asylum backlog and for claims to be processed in 6 months,
• Cracking down on organised immigration crime (supply chains and people smugglers),
• Reforming asylum rules by working with other countries on international law reform and restricting visa access from countries that don’t work together on national priorities,
• Giving Parliament control of how many places are offered safe and legal routes for refugees fleeing persecution.

In terms of migration, policies include issues such as;

• Delivering sustainable levels of high-skilled migration,
• Requiring migrants to undergo a health check in advance of travel and increasing Immigration Health Surcharge or requiring them to buy health insurance if likely to burden the NHS,
• Increasing all visa fees and removing the student discount to the Immigration Health Surcharge to raise more money for public services,
• Cutting migration via introducing legal caps on migration set on work and family visas in order to control migration numbers.

To read more of the Conservative Party manifesto please see: https://manifesto.conservatives.com/

Labour Party

In response to the Conservative’s policies on immigration whilst in office, Labour have offered up differing policies to the Conservatives on immigration.

In terms of controlling immigration and stopping “illegal” immigration, policies include issues such as;

• Creating a new Border Security Command, including new investigators intelligence officers, and cross-border police officers, funded by ending the Migration and Economic Development partnership with Rwanda,
• Hiring additional caseworkers to clear the asylum backlog and end asylum hotels,
• Setting up a new returns and enforcement unit in order to fast-track removals to safe countries for people who do not have the right to stay in the UK, with an additional 1,000 staff in the unit,
• Negotiating the additional returns arrangements in order to speed up returns and increase the number of safe countries to send failed asylum seekers,
• Working with international partners to address the humanitarian crises leading people to flee, and strengthening support for refugees in their home region,
• Reforming the points-based immigration system to be fair and properly managed, with appropriate restrictions on visas, and linking immigration and skills policy.

When discussing migration, Labour pledges policies such as;

• Strengthening the Migration Advisory Committee and establishing a framework for doing working with skills bodies across the UK,
• Ending the long-term reliance on overseas workers in some parts of the economy by bringing in workforce and training plans for sectors such as health and social care, and construction.

To read more of the Labour Party’s manifesto please see: https://labour.org.uk/change/

With immigration being an increasingly decisive issue within current politics, these policy proposals could greatly impact the election results. However, the biggest impact on an election is your vote and ensuring that you have correct voter ID when voting. Please see https://www.gov.uk/how-to-vote/photo-id-youll-need to check you have valid ID to use on election day.

Talking Politics will report on the policies of other parties in a future blog post

By Ella Weatherburn