Tom Hunt: I support the Government's new migration measures

It negatively affects housing, education and healthcare, amoungst a whole host of other issues.

Over the last 20 years or so, net migration in Britain has been far too high.

Migration has peaked in the 21st century, says Tom Hunt

At the turn of the millennium, net migration was at a figure of 158,000, in itself a considerable increase from the figure seen in the early 1990s - 44,000 in 1991 and even reaching negative net migration figures in 1992 and 1993.

However, as the 21st century has progressed, we have seen these numbers increase astronomically.   

At its absolute peak, 2022, net migration is estimated to have been 745,000 - that is more than the population of Manchester.

It is not sustainable.

I am sad to say that it is something that over the last 14 years the Conservative Party could have done more to remedy.

That is why I am very encouraged by and supportive of the new measures that the Prime Minister has introduced.

Tom Hunt is pleased that Rishi Sunak has announced that the Government is stopping foreign masters students from bringing over family members This week Sunak announced that the Government has stopped foreign master's students bringing over family members, stopped overseas care workers bringing over family dependents and stopped immigration undercutting British workers.

According to Professor Brian Bell, this is estimated to bring net migration down to 150,000 people.

This number is great but still too high and, in an ideal world. I would like to see net migration at pre-21st century levels. However, considering the aforementioned figure of 745,000, all but two years ago, this is a major step in the right direction.   

We can still do more.

Last year I authored a report on behalf of the New Conservatives group on how we could best curb migration and cut net migration.

I outlined 12 strategies on how we could do this. I am delighted to see that in the Prime Minister's new measures, some of the themes I suggested last summer have been echoed.   

Recommendations three, four and five of my report were all focussed on students and their dependants.   

I suggested that we should extend the closure of the student dependent route.

The reason that said permission is problematic is because it allows full access to the job market and is not subject to skill or salary thresholds, to students enrolled on one-year research Master’s degrees.

I further recommend that we should close the Graduate Route to students, to stop students staying in the UK after graduating for up to two years without a job offer and reserve university Study Visas for the brightest international students by excluding the poorest performing universities from eligibility criteria.   

I reiterate that it is great to see that in stopping foreign master's students bringing over family members and overseas care workers bringing over family dependents the Prime Minister is taking on the kind of recommendations I and other MPs have pitched to help try and solve this issue.

Most encouragingly of all, I am ecstatic that Professor Bell believes that this could potentially get net migration down to 150,000, fulfilling our manifesto pledge.

Although I would be tempted to say that even said manifesto pledge is too high – if Sunak continues in this positive direction and delivers more measures to cut the number of people coming to this country, taking on more recommendations like those I proposed would help to achieve this.

All this positive progress would be put at risk by the election of a Labour government at the end of the year who are ideologically wedded to the concept of open borders.