Migration message in UK-India trade deal
THE UK-INDIA trade deal, which both governments want to clinch by Diwali (which falls next Monday, 24) isn’t really home secretary Suella Braverman’s responsibility, but she has managed to manoeuvre her way in by insisting her job is to cut migrant numbers.
She is – in a sense – undermining prime minister Liz Truss, who has made achieving a UK-India trade deal one of her priorities.
Braverman’s spokeswoman at the Home Office said: “A trade deal between the UK and India is a huge opportunity to deepen our already strong trading relationship worth £24.3 billion a year, which will benefit businesses and sectors right across both our countries.”
But she injected a belligerent note: “We remain clear that we won’t sacrifice quality for speed, and will only sign when we have a deal that meets the UK’s interests.”
That hardly needs emphasising. No one would expect the UK to sign a deal that is not in the country’s interest.
Braverman told the Spectator “the largest group of people who overstay are Indian migrants”. This remark caused the Indian High Commission to dispute her claim.
The home secretary wants to be seen to be tough on immigration at a time when other ministers want to do something about the labour shortages crippling industry.
In her speech to the Tory party conference last week, Braverman said: “It’s not racist for anyone, ethnic minority or otherwise, to want to control our borders. It’s not bigoted to say that we have too many asylum seekers who are abusing the system.
“It’s not xenophobic to say that mass and rapid migration places pressure on housing, public services and community relations. I reject the Left’s argument that it is hypocritical for someone from an ethnic minority to tell these truths.
“My parents came here through legal and controlled migration. They spoke the language, threw themselves into the community, they embraced British values. When they arrived, they signed up to be part of our shared project because the United Kingdom meant something distinct. Integration was part of the quid pro quo.”
Isn’t it a little premature for her to launch a leadership contest? Truss hasn’t lost the general election – yet.