Immigration after May: What should the new Prime Minister change? looks back at Theresa May’s record on immigration and then casts forward to examine what a new Prime Minister could do differently.
ICM polling samples public opinion, with voices from politics, civil society and business offering their take on May’s legacy and the opportunities for a fresh approach under a new Prime Minister.
The report includes recommendations for the new PM and Home Secretary, as well as advice for opposition parties and civic voices on their role in rebuilding trust.
It recommends that the new Prime Minister must make a ‘clean break’ from the immigration approach of Theresa May, pursued for a decade as Prime Minister and Home Secretary, if they are to restore public trust on the issue.
Key to restoring public confidence will be abandoning the Government’s net migration target – described in the report as “a promise it could never realistically hope to keep – which was highly corrosive of public trust”.
The report stresses the importance of making immigration work at a local level, managing local pressures by extending the Controlling Migration Fund after 2020.
It also emphasises the need to prioritise integration, ensuring access to affordable English classes and encouraging the uptake of British citizenship.
