Cabinet agrees to cut low-skilled migration
May and Javid win clash with Hammond and Clarke – priority must be given to those with essential skills
EU migrants will not be given preferential treatment after Brexit and the number coming to the UK will fall significantly under plans announced by Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary. It would amount to a crackdown on low-skilled migrants. The Cabinet reached a consensus on the plans but the Prime Minister refused to allow any debate over a Canada-style deal with the EU following the outright rejection of her Chequers plan.
EU MIGRANTS will not be given preferential treatment after Brexit and the number coming to the UK will fall significantly under government plans.
Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, yesterday unveiled plans at Cabinet for a crackdown on the number of lowskilled migrants coming to the UK after Britain leaves the EU.
The Cabinet reached a consensus on the plans despite objections from Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, and Greg Clarke, the Business Secretary.
However the Prime Minister refused to allow any debate over calls for her to consider a Canada-style trade deal with the EU following the outright rejection of her Chequers plan.
She insisted that Chequers remains the “only plan” which can avoid a hard Irish border, respect the result of the EU referendum and ensure there is “frictionless trade”. By refusing to allow Cabinet ministers to make the case for a Canada-style deal, Mrs May is risking a major row at next week’s Conservative Party Conference.
Mrs May is also likely to face demands to cull her Chequers proposal when the Cabinet next meets in two weeks time, unless progress is made on it with the EU.
The Cabinet agreement over a crackdown on low-skilled migrants represents a victory for Mrs May and Mr Javid and comes after months of Cabinet clashes over the issue. Mr Javid’s plan will prioritise high-skilled migrants, but Mr Hammond argued it could lead to chronic labour shortages in parts of the economy. However, the Cabinet is understood to have agreed that the policy could change if Britain signs a comprehensive trade deal with the EU.
The Daily Telegraph understands Esther Mcvey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, criticised Mr Hammond at the meeting. Ms Mcvey criticised Remainers for claiming that Brexit will cause a “huge recession” leading to job losses while arguing the UK will need migrants to fill jobs. “Both can’t be true,” she is said to have told Cabinet.
Several Cabinet ministers argued at the meeting that failing to cut migration could cost the Tories at the next General Election. “We can’t go into the election in 2022 with the same levels of migration and the feeling that nothing has changed,” one source said.
Alan Manning, the chairman of the independent Migration Advisory Committee, gave a presentation in which he said that high-skilled migrants are of “greater economic benefit” to the UK.
He highlighted the committee’s recommendation that the new system should “make it easier for higher skilled than lower skilled workers to come to the UK. A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Cabinet agreed that, once free movement is brought to an end, the Government will be able to introduce a new system which works in the best interests of the UK, including helping boost productivity.” The Cabinet agreed “in principle” that EU migrants will be allowed to continue to come to the UK for more than two years in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The Prime Minister made clear that she will not compromise over her Chequers plan despite mounting concern in her Cabinet. She left her comments about Salzburg to the end of the meeting, with one source suggesting that she “literally read from a script” before closing the two-hour meeting without further discussion.
Boris Johnson, the former Foreign Secretary, and David Davis, the former Brexit Secretary, yesterday gave their support to plans for a Canada-style deal with the EU after Brexit. It would see Britain sign a “basic” free trade agreement for goods and pursue “regulatory freedom” and “trade independence”.