Plain-speaking Conersative MP Lee Anderson has offered a simple solution to spiralling immigration by saying the Tories should adopt a cap on numbers.
During a net migration figures debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the MP for Ashfield addressed Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick with his idea to solve the issue.
Official figures published last week showed net migration reached a record 745,000 in 2022.
Addressing the Minister of Immigration spelling out what he thought was a solution to the problem, he said: “People in Ashfield have had enough of this. There are 7,000 people on the council house waiting list. People are struggling to get a GP or dental appointment and are struggling to get school places.
“Is it not about time that we had a cap on migration and put a clear divide between us and that lot over there?”
Responding to Mr Anderson’s idea, Mr Jenrick said there were “strong arguments” for using caps.
He said: “My hon. Friend speaks for my constituents as well as his, he represents a constituency near mine, in saying that the British public want us to get on with the job and bring down the numbers coming into the country.
“The Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and I are committed to bringing forward a set of fundamental reforms that I hope will achieve the objective that my hon. Friend sets out.
“There are definitely strong arguments for using caps, whether in general or on specific visas, but those are conversations we need to conclude within Government.”
Tom Hunt, Tory MP for Ipswich, warned that a growing disconnect between attitudes to migration and reality is an “affront to our shared democracy”, adding: “In 2019, I stood on a manifesto when net migration was around 220,000 and I promised my constituents it would come down.
“Last year it was at 740,000. This year it is 650,000. This is a truly shocking state of affairs.”
Mr Jenrick added that people are “sick of talk” and want action to reduce net migration, as he insisted a “serious package of fundamental reforms” is planned.
The Immigration Minister said official estimates that net migration up for 2023, up until June, stood at 672,000 places “untold pressure” on housing supply, public services and “makes successful integration virtually impossible”.
