Ambition to reduce immigration is not racist, says Braverman

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Home ministers’ speech at a conference of right-wing Tories comes amid internal criticism of Rishi Sunaks’ leadership

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said it was not racist to want to cut immigration numbers – as she called on the UK to train more lorry drivers and fruit pickers.

She made the comments in a speech to the National Conservatism Conference in London today (May 15) which was twice interrupted by Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters who accused the government of demonizing migrants .

In his speech, Braverman stressed the need for the Conservatives to renew their 2019 election manifesto promise to create a highly skilled, high-wage economy that is less reliant on low-skilled workers from overseas.

Figures released later this month are expected to show a significant increase in net migration – the gap between the number of people arriving in the UK and the number leaving.

Analysis by centre-right think tank the Center for Policy Studies suggests the number – for the year to December 2022 – could reach between 700,000 and 997,000. The previous high was 504,000 during the 12-month period until June 2022, partly due to the arrival of refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan.

Braverman told the conference: I voted and campaigned for Brexit because I wanted Britain to control migration. Highly skilled workers support economic growth. Do. But we must reduce the overall number of immigrants. And we must not forget how to do things for ourselves.

This protester was one of two abducted as Suella Braverman spoke at the conference.

There’s no good reason why we can’t train enough truck drivers, butchers or fruit pickers. Brexit allows us to build a highly-skilled, high-wage economy that is less dependent on low-skilled foreign labour.

The speech was briefly interrupted by two XR protesters who were cleared from the venue by security. The campaign group said it entered the conference secretly to shine a light on increasingly dangerous rhetoric from high-profile political figures.

Braverman was one of the keynote speakers at the conference, other guests include figures from the right wing of the Conservative Party including former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg and Ashfield MP Lee Anderson. Last year he told the Commons the government needed to develop a backbone and return illegal immigrants directly the same day.

The Archbishop of Canterbury strongly criticized the Government’s policy on small boat crossings last week

The Home Secretary also hit back at his critics, insisting that it was not xenophobic to say that mass and rapid migration is unsustainable in terms of the supply of housing, services and community relations.

She added: It’s also not bigoted to say that too many people come here illegally and seek asylum, and that we don’t have enough accommodation for them. I’m not shy to say that I love Britain. No real conservative is. It’s not racist for anyone, ethnic minority or otherwise, to want to control our borders.

The conference comes as some on the conservative right have expressed concern over the direction of the party under Rishi Sunaks.

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Governments’ approach to tackling illegal immigration has also been heavily criticized. Last week the Archbishop of Canterbury told the House of Lords that ministers’ plans to stop the boats sending asylum seekers to Rwanda were morally unacceptable and politically unfeasible.

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