On 5 June 2013, the Home Secretary announced that since the 2010 general election, immigration numbers have been cut by a third. The number of immigrants coming to the UK is now lower than it has been for over a decade. This fulfils the pledge made by the Conservative Party three years ago when it said it would bring immigration back under control after a decade of spiralling figures under Labour.
James said: ‘The Conservatives are building an immigration system which works in our national interest, not against it. People who will contribute to our national life will be encouraged to come here. Those that do not should be deterred.’
The Conservatives have
- closed down bogus colleges and made students who want to come to the UK prove they’re coming here to study, not to work.
- have made sure people can only bring in a spouse or partner from outside Europe if they can support them financially.
- rewritten the ‘Life in the UK’ test for new citizens, putting British values and British history at its heart.
Labour has opposed every single one of these reforms.
But there is more to do. It is still too easy for illegal immigrants to access public services which they’re not entitled to – and too hard for immigration officials to remove them from the UK. The new Immigration Bill will clamp down on those from overseas who abuse our public services, make Britain less of a soft touch, and make it easier for us to remove people who should not be here.
It will take time to clear up the mess inherited from Labour. And these figures show that that the Government is doing precisely that.