‘Anger and frustration’ from Tory MPs after calendar year migration record broken

Published

12 months ago

May 25, 2023

admin

Some Conservative MPs have expressed anger after official statistics showed net migration for a calendar year at a record high.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published data this morning showing that net migration stood at 606,000 in the year ending December 2022.

The figure came despite a Tory 2019 manifesto commitment to “bring overall numbers down”.

Net migration is the annual number of people arriving in the UK when both immigration and emigration are taken into account.

Following the update, immigration minister Robert Jenrick responded to an urgent question in the House of Commons in which he said the government remained committed to reducing migration to “sustainable levels”.

He told MPs: “That is a solemn promise we made to the British public in our manifesto, and we are unwavering in our determination to deliver it.”

Politics latest:
Chancellor willing to ‘do what it takes’ on bills support

Mr Jenrick pointed to recent curbs on international students bringing family to the UK as a means to bring overall numbers down.

But Labour attacked the government for lacking a plan on migration.

The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, also criticised Suella Braverman for not appearing in parliament to answer questions on the issue.

A number of Tory MPs also lined up in the Commons to criticise the government’s approach.

Conservative former minister Sir Edward Leigh told the Commons: “Some people in the Treasury seem to think a good way to grow the economy is to fill the country up with more and more people, but this is bad for productivity and bad for British workers who are being undercut by mass migration from all over the world.

“Why is it that under the points-based system we allow people in earning only £26,000 a year but the median UK salary is £33,000 a year?

“Isn’t an obvious solution to this to insist that everybody who comes in is skilled and earns the median UK salary median and then we can boost productivity and get British people back to work?”

The Conservative MP for Cleethorpes, Martin Vickers, said while the “anger and frustration” of his constituents had been on illegal migration, “that anger and frustration will grow when they consider these legal migration figures”.

“We’re creating, roughly speaking, eight new parliamentary constituencies with this number and if that continues it’s clearly unsustainable,” he said.

Mr Jenrick was also criticised by former levelling up minister Simon Clarke, who tweeted that the immigration figures were “too high”.

“There is no popular mandate at all for this level of immigration to the UK,” he wrote.

Brendan Clarke-Smith, the Tory MP for Bassetlaw, also tweeted: “Need to see these numbers cut drastically going forwards.”

The ONS figures showed that total long-term immigration was estimated at around 1.2 million in 2022, while emigration was 557,000.

Most people arriving in the UK last year were non-EU nationals (925,000), followed by EU (151,000) and British (88,000), the ONS said.

However, the ONS added that despite the rise in immigration last year, its long-term international migration estimates “suggest a slowing in growth over the most recent quarters”.

Separate statistics from the Home Office also revealed that the backlog of asylum cases in the UK has hit a new record high.

A total of 172,758 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of March 2023, up 57% compared to the end of March 2022, and the highest figure since current records began in 2010.

The number of people waiting more than six months for an initial decision stood at 128,812 at the end of March, up 76% year on year from 73,207 – another record high.

Mr Jenrick suggested that speeding up decisions could, in fact, act as a pull factor for people coming to the UK, saying it was “not correct” that processing illegal migrants’ claims faster would reduce arrivals and that “in all likelihood it’ll lead to an increase”.

But the immigration minister appeared to be at odds with Rishi Sunak over the delays.

Asked about the comments, Downing Street said tackling the asylum backlog is “the right approach”.

The prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “What we are focusing on is reducing the numbers, tackling that backlog is the right approach.”

Downing Street also declined to apologise for failing on delivering the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto pledge to bring overall net migration numbers down after the introduction of post-Brexit border controls.

Asked whether the prime minister would like to apologise, his official spokesman told reporters: “We are working to bring those numbers down. We’ve set out a significant package to do that just this week as well as all the work that goes alongside stopping the boats.

“It’s also important to understand what sits beneath some of those numbers – 114,000 Ukrainians coming over for example, 52,000 British nationals from Hong Kong. We think that is something the public can be rightly proud of.

“At the same time, we need to strike the right balance about supporting our economy with getting those numbers down, so we recognise that number’s up too high.”

World

Health warning issued as heatwave grips South and Southeast Asia

Published

17 hours ago

May 4, 2024

admin

Health warning issued as heatwave grips South and Southeast Asia

Countries in South and Southeast Asia have been coping with a weeks-long heatwave which has seen record temperatures sweep parts of the region.

Pupils in the Philippines, India and Bangladesh have been told to stay at home and learn remotely due to a severe health risk.

Schools in Cambodia have also cut back on their hours.

Cambodia faces its hottest temperature in 170 years, according to meteorologists – as high as 43C (109F).

Bangkok in Thailand has reached 40C (104 F), but the heat index is said to have topped 50 C (122 F) due to the heat being trapped among the mass of buildings.

The United Nations Children’s Fund warned in April that the heat could put the lives of millions of children at risk and asked people who care for them to take extra precautions.

A spokesperson for UNICEF said around 243 million children were exposed to hotter and longer heatwaves.

They said the increased heat was “putting them at risk of a multitude of heat-related illnesses, and even death”.

Thirty people in Thailand have died from heatstroke in the past month, according to data from the country’s health ministry.

People are being advised to avoid outdoor activities and to stay hydrated.

Several towns in Myanmar were included on lists of the hottest spots globally last month, with temperatures reaching 48.2C (118F) in at least one case.

Parts of eastern India also experienced their hottest April on record.

Kerala, on India’s west coast, this week instructed all schools and colleges to close until Monday, while influencers in Bangladesh have encouraging people to plant trees in response to the record heat.

Benjamin Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said there were three factors for heatwaves: a naturally-occurring climate phenomenon known as El Nino, an increase in global temperatures, and human-induced climate change.

Brazil is currently experiencing another climate phenomenon – La Nina – with 39 dead and 68 missing in floods across the country.

More than 24,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to the flooding.

Scientists believe the naturally-occurring phenomenon has intensified due to the impact of climate change.

World

Philippine coastguard hits out at China’s ‘brute force’ after water cannon attack

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

admin

Philippine coastguard hits out at China's 'brute force' after water cannon attack

China has been branded “a bully” and an international lawbreaker after its ships blasted Philippine vessels with water cannon in the South China Sea.

Sky News was on board the BRP Bagacay when a Chinese vessel fired water at it, causing significant damage.

Philippine coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela told Sky News that this week’s confrontation was the first time China had used “such aggression” against their ships.

“The metal parts and the railing were bent. The canopy was also destroyed. So this came as a surprise for us that China never hesitated to use brute force,” he said.

“It completely justifies us calling The People’s Republic of China a bully country.”

The Philippine coastguard was on a resupply mission to the Scarborough Shoal to deliver food and fuel to Philippine fishermen when they were struck.

The submerged reef lies in disputed waters. China claims sovereignty over the reef but it is much closer to the Philippines and lies within its legally recognised exclusive economic zone.

The vessel Sky News was on board was the closest the coastguard had ever been to the shoal – just 600 metres away from it.

Asked if the mission to the shoal was a provocative move by the Philippine coastguard, Commodore Tarriela denied they were “poking the bear” but rather “driving the bear out of our own territory”.

The Philippines has been stepping up its patrols in the area under the instruction of President Bongbong Marcos, and reasserting its claim to the shoal in recent months.

It has raised the spectre of open conflict. While neither side currently wants that, there is now a greater threat of open conflict.

Asked what the end game was for the Philippines, Commodore Tarriela said their priority was to “tell the world” about China’s aggression.

He said their secondary goal was to ensure “like-minded states” also made China “fall in line and respect international law”.

“Otherwise, it’s everybody’s loss,” he added.

Philippine government policy is not to resist using water cannon against Chinese vessels – and Commodore Tarriela insisted that policy remains in place after the confrontation.

The government also remains intensely determined to protect the waters it believes it has every right to operate in.

“We’re not going to yield and we’re not going to surrender a square inch of our territory,” Commodore Tarriela insisted.

Beijing has called the action its own coastguard took as “necessary”.

Speaking at the Chinese foreign ministry’s daily news conference, spokesperson Lin Jian described the coastguard’s conduct as “professional, proper, and lawful”.

World

Three charged over killing of Sikh separatist leader in Canada – in incident which sparked diplomatic spat with India

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

admin

Three charged over killing of Sikh separatist leader in Canada - in incident which sparked diplomatic spat with India

Three suspects have been charged by Canadian police over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Vancouver last June, in an incident that sparked a diplomatic spat between Ottawa and New Delhi.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a temple by masked gunmen in Surrey, outside Vancouver, on 18 June 2023.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police assistant commissioner David Teboul said police could not comment on the nature of the evidence or the motive.

“This matter is very much under active investigation,” Teboul said.

The three suspects – Indian nationals Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar and Karampreet Singh – were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

Superintendent Mandeep Mooker said: “This investigation does not end here. We are aware that others may have played a role in this homicide and we remain dedicated to finding and arresting each one of these individuals.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked a diplomatic feud with India when he said in September that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing. India angrily denied involvement.

Mr Nijjar, an Indian-born citizen of Canada, was a leader in what remains of the Khalistan movement – a once-strong group calling for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland.

He was organising an unofficial referendum in India for an independent Sikh nation at the time of this death and had denied allegations of ties to terrorism.

The Khalistan movement has lost much of its power but is still supported by some in the Punjab state in northwestern India and in the Sikh diaspora overseas.

A violent, decade-long Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s, and was ultimately crushed in a government crackdown which saw thousands of people killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.

In June 1984, Indian forces stormed the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar, where separatists had taken refuge.

In more recent years, the Indian government has repeatedly warned that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback.

Read more: What is the Khalistan movement?

The diplomatic row saw diplomats expelled by both India and Canada.

The Indian government said it “completely rejected” Mr Trudeau’s allegations and added: “We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to rule of law.”

The dispute derailed trade talks between the two countries and ultimately saw Canada withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats in India.

At the time, Canada did not provide public evidence to back up Mr Trudeau’s allegations. However, it did reveal the claims were based on intelligence provided by a major ally and surveillance of Indian diplomats in the country.