No clarity on Conservative immigration cap

Last week, Left Foot Forward examined whether the Conservative party’s immigration cap policy stacked up. In the BBC2 Daily Politics Election Debate, shadow immigration minister, Damian Green, had an opportunity to clarify his party’s position, which he failed to take.

Last week, Sarah Mulley wrote on this blog:

“The Conservatives’ immigration cap policy is pretty meaningless until they set out the level at which the cap would be set, and caps set at the kind of levels which they are implicitly promising would be impossible to deliver without causing the UK significant economic harm.”

Ms Mulley set out why a cap of 100,000 (assumed to be the upper limit of what the Tories want to achieve) “would still be very difficult to achieve if improvements in the economy lead to increases in work-related migration to pre-recession levels.”

In the televised debate earlier today, Damian Green had an opportunity to clarify his party’s position today. Under scrutiny from Andrew Neil, Mark Easton, Tom Brake and Phil Woolas, he outlined that the Tory cap on non-EU work permits would exclude students, children, family settlements, and asylum cases. But Mr Green failed to put a figure on what the cap offering only that a Conservative administration would hold a consultation with business. In light of all the caveats in the Tory position, Mr Woolas accused the Tories’ plans of being no different to Labour’s policy.

Watch it:

http://twitter.com/niaccurshi/status/13372269186 Lee Griffin

RT @HouseofTwits: RT @leftfootfwd No clarity on Conservative immigration cap as Damian Green ties himself in knots http://bit.ly/dy9l3D …
http://twitter.com/12crasssongs/status/13372327260 N Seventeen

RT @leftfootfwd: No clarity on Conservative immigration cap as Damian Green ties himself in knots http://bit.ly/dy9l3D (VIDEO)#labourwin
http://twitter.com/jphf/status/13372915982 JPP

RT @TheMainstand: No clarity on Conservative immigration cap as Damian Green ties himself in knots http://bit.ly/dy9l3D (VIDEO) #ge2010 #toryfail
http://twitter.com/blewout/status/13373256100 Bryn Thomas

RT @houseoftwits: RT @leftfootfwd No clarity on Conservative immigration cap as Damian Green ties himself in knots http://bit.ly/dy9l3D (VIDEO)
http://twitter.com/thabisnit/status/13372139889 Martin Binfield

RT @leftfootfwd: No clarity on Conservative immigration cap as Damian Green ties himself in knots http://bit.ly/dy9l3D (VIDEO)
http://twitter.com/themainstand/status/13372234667 Brian O’Rourke

No clarity on Conservative immigration cap as Damian Green ties himself in knots http://bit.ly/dy9l3D (VIDEO) #ge2010 #toryfail
http://twitter.com/houseoftwits/status/13372249991 House Of Twits

RT @leftfootfwd No clarity on Conservative immigration cap as Damian Green ties himself in knots http://bit.ly/dy9l3D (VIDEO)
http://twitter.com/nadiashanaz/status/13374963671 Nadia

RT @leftfootfwd: No clarity on Conservative immigration cap as Damian Green ties himself in knots http://bit.ly/dy9l3D (VIDEO)
http://twitter.com/jphf/status/13376790020 JPP

Bless! Already Conservative immigration policy revealed as confused…taste of things to come #sameoldtories http://bit.ly/dy9l3D #ge2010
http://twitter.com/themainstand/status/13376892833 Brian O’Rourke

RT @jphf: Bless! Already Conservative immigration policy revealed as confused…taste of things to come #sameoldtories http://bit.ly/dy9l3D #ge2010
Nadia

RT @leftfootfwd: No clarity on Conservative immigration cap as Damian Green ties himself in knots http://bit.ly/dy9l3D (VIDEO)
http://twitter.com/patriciahami/status/13377875482 Patricia Hamilton

RT @jphf: Bless! Already Conservative immigration policy revealed as confused…taste of things to come #sameoldtories http://bit.ly/dy9l3D
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/05/vote-2010-immigration/ Vote 2010: Immigration | Left Foot Forward

[...] they have not set out the level at which an immigration cap might be set, and have repeatedly failed to clarify which migration flows they would cap, they have talked about reducing annual net immigration below [...]
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/05/vote-2010-an-election-reflection/ Vote 2010: An election reflection | Left Foot Forward

[...] and study; and a much improved (if not perfect) asylum system. The Conservatives, by contrast, have failed to clarify details of their proposed immigration cap and the numbers don’t stack up. The Liberal [...]