Some seven million jobs in the UK will be opened to new or increased competition by migrant workers.
This policy threatens their work, training and future. The Government should think again.
This is 25 times the number of skilled work permits issued each year to non-EU citizens and their dependants.
If employers turn to cheaper foreign labour, the Conservatives will suffer very heavily, especially in the new “red wall” constituencies.
Yet another failure to keep a clear promise would be deeply damaging, especially in the ‘Red Wall’.
The most serious risk of all is the clear possibility that the new regime will lead to a massive increase of immigration.
In the longer term, the aim of the hard left is to increase the size of the ethnic community so as to cement left-wing power.
If they don’t act, it will be left to the Brexit Party to provide the only outlet for opposition on an issue of deep concern to the voters.
In the second part of this mini-series, we reveal a pledge we are putting to all the hopefuls to bring down net inflow to 150,000 per year.
It is the moment to decide whether to go for a leader who is prepared to tackle immigration, or for one who has failed to heed the public’s calls to reduce it.
Others would say that the appointment of a profoundly business-friendly Home Secretary was bound to lead to a weakening of immigration policy.
Ministers need to be clear about who they intend to admit, and that they will set limits on numbers and on any rights to benefits and access for family members.
There are indeed mechanisms for mitigating damaging immigration flows, but these are tightly constrained.
Diane Abbott is trying to forge an alliance between immigrant communities and an employer’s lobby keen to import labour.
If net migration were to fall only to 488,000 we would be looking at an extra twelve million people and the need for 200,000 new homes a year – roughly 550 a day.