Tory MPs turn on Jeremy Hunt after predicted increase in migration
Tory MPs turn on Jeremy Hunt after predicted wave of migration, claiming he has privately argued it would help curb inflation
- MPs say the Chancellor supports the increase as he hopes it will ease pressure on wages
- Rishi Sunak pledged to reduce the level of net migration to below 500,000
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been accused by Tory MPs of an expected rise in migration – as he has argued privately that this will help bring down inflation.
Amid the lingering fallout from last week’s forecast by the Center for Policy Studies that net migration could rise to between 700,000 and 997,000 for the year to December, MPs say Mr Hunt supports the rise as he hopes it will pressure on wages will ease.
A source said: “Hunt’s priority is to tackle inflation, but it won’t help us much with voters if there are a million extra migrants here by the time of the next election.”
It came as Rishi Sunak vowed to reduce the level of net migration below the 500,000 figure he “inherited” as prime minister.
The prime minister said at the G7 summit in Japan that he was “focused” on reducing the level of net migration, which stood at 504,000 for the year to June 2022.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been accused by Tory MPs of a predicted rise in migration
The Conservative manifesto of 2019 pledged to ensure that ‘general figures’ [of people arriving in the UK] come down’.
Net migration is the sum of the number of people arriving in the UK minus the number of emigrations.
Mr Sunak told Sky News there were a ‘series of factors’ that led to the current figure, including the UK taking in Ukrainian refugees.
He said: ‘I am determined to bring down the levels of net migration that I have inherited.
“I’m focused on reducing the levels of legal migration, but I’m also totally focused as one of my five priorities on stopping the boats and I think that’s the country’s priority when it comes to migration.”
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