May to curb migration as Brexit vote looms

PM seeks to win round Tory Eurosceptics with restrictions on low-skilled migrants

THERESA MAY will announce curbs on low-skilled migrants days before the Commons votes on her Brexit deal in an effort to win round Eurosceptic Tory MPS, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.

Leaked Cabinet papers disclose that the Home Office has drawn up plans to issue low-skilled migrants 11-month visas “with restricted entitlements and rights” while they are living in the UK.

Ministers are also considering alternative plans to allow EU migrants aged 18-30 to live and work in the UK for two years, with a strict cap on numbers.

The Prime Minister is to announce that the Government will abolish the cap on highly skilled workers, such as doctors and nurses, after Brexit so the UK can continue to attract the “brightest and the best”.

She was today travelling to Brussels, where she was expected to secure the agreement of European Union leaders to her Brexit deal despite last-minute objections from Spain over Gibraltar.

On Monday the focus will switch to the parliamentary vote on her deal, expected in two weeks, when Mrs May will fight for her political future as she tries to win round Eurosceptic ministers and avert defeat in the Commons after more than 90 of her own MPS publicly criticised her deal.

The Daily Telegraph understands that the Government plans to publish its long-awaited migration White Paper in the week starting Dec 3, with a vote expected the following week.

The Prime Minister will then seek to reframe the Brexit debate around migration by arguing that her deal will fulfil the key referendum pledge of taking back control of borders.

She said yesterday: “I recognise that there were aspects of being in the EU that caused people real concern and free movement was one of those.” The ‘Remember, whatever happens, Mrs May is always having a worse day’

Government is also attempting to win round 30 Labour MPS in Leave-voting constituencies with offers of crossparty briefings about the deal.

Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, warned that the UK would be plunged into a “constitutional deadlock” if Parliament voted down Mrs May’s Brexit deal. He acknowledged that there were “big concerns about the backstop” but urged MPS to see her deal as a “staging post” to a new relationship with the EU. He said she had the most “difficult job” of any leader in the West.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister yesterday faced claims of “patronage” after giving a knighthood to John Hayes, a senior Eurosceptic Tory MP who has questioned her deal and previously suggested he could vote against it.

During a BBC phone-in, Mrs May also repeatedly refused to rule out resigning if she lost the Commons vote, saying: “I’m not thinking about me.”

According to leaked Home Office

papers seen by the Cabinet, the fundamental “tenet” of the new post-brexit system will be that it should “not afford specific preference to EU citizens”.

Ministers are having a “live” discussion about the best approach to curbing migration amid concerns that sectors such as care homes and hospitality face significant staff shortages.

The paper states: “The Government has already proposed expanding our youth mobility arrangements with the EU. In addition to that, the broader arrangements are likely to be needed to ensure the economy has the low-skilled labour it needs …

“To achieve a sensible balance in terms of the mix of migration and the possible impacts on communities, we will explore the possibilities of limiting lengths of visas and rights to settle and bring dependants. One option would be on 11-month visas with restricted entitlements and rights. This will, how- ever, require further assessment of the impacts [of ] different approaches.”

The cap on highly skilled “tier 2” migrants will be abolished, with highly skilled EU migrants coming to the UK to work for more than 12 months given the right to settle permanently with their partners and children.

It comes as Spain demands a declaration that Gibraltar will not be covered by a future Brexit trade deal unless agreed by Madrid.

In the latest round of brinkmanship, Spain’s Europe minister refused to confirm whether Pedro Sánchez, its prime minister, would attend Sunday’s “seal the deal” summit unless it received written guarantees from the UK.

The stand-off has left the EU looking deeply divided ahead of the summit with EU diplomats left fuming over Mr Sánchez’s grandstanding on Gibraltar.

“I will bet my mortgage and yours that Spain backs down over Gibraltar,” said one EU diplomat.