The two leading candidates in the race to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party leader have put immigration at the centre of their campaigns, with a focus on visa restrictions for Indians. This issue sparked intense debate at the start of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Sunday.
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick has called for tough visa restrictions on India unless the country takes back its nationals who are in the UK illegally.
He claimed that, despite an agreement between the two countries, the number of deportations remains low, while India has benefited from 250,000 visas last year.
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Jenrick, speaking to The Daily Telegraph, said that “severe visa restrictions” and cuts to foreign aid should be imposed on countries that refuse to accept the return of illegal migrants. He has taken an early lead in the race to succeed Sunak.
Kemi Badenoch, another frontrunner and shadow housing secretary, has also targeted immigration in her campaign. She condemned the influence of cultural disputes brought by new migrants, referring to incidents in Leicester last year following an India-Pakistan cricket match.
“It is quite clear that there are many people who have recently come to this country who have brought views from their countries of origin that have no place here,” Badenoch told the BBC.
“I saw as equalities minister people bringing cultural disputes from India to the streets of Leicester… we need to make sure that when people come to this country, they leave their previous differences behind. This is not a controversial thing to say,” she said.
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New leadership announcement expected in November
The issue of immigration has become a key topic as Jenrick and Badenoch vie for leadership, with two other contenders – former ministers James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat – also in the race. The leadership election will conclude with an online vote by Conservative Party members, and the new leader is expected to be announced on November 2.
Sunak, who resigned as leader after a disappointing general election in July, continues to serve as interim leader of the opposition until his successor is chosen.