Kemi Badenoch has announced plans to potentially strip migrants of access to benefits and public services in her proposed overhaul of migration policy
The Tory leader pledged to introduce a strict numerical cap on net migration
Kemi Badenoch has announced plans to potentially strip migrants of access to benefits and public services in her proposed overhaul of migration policy.
The Tory leader pledged to introduce a strict numerical cap on net migration, though she did not specify the target figure.
She emphasised that only those making "a substantial and clear overall contribution" would be granted visas under the Tory's new approach.
Badenoch said: "Our welfare system is not an international welfare system and we have organised it in such a way that other people are able to take advantage of it in an unaffordable manner."
She also admitted the Conservative Party made serious mistakes by allowing migration to hit record levels during their time in government, as she pledged to rebuild trust with voters ahead of the next election.
Discussing stripping migrants of some benefits, she added: "We have to look after the people who are in this country, the British citizens, first.
Badenoch criticised Home Office civil servants, suggesting they would "prefer to be working in a charity, assisting asylum seekers" rather than focusing on border control.
She said: "While millions aspire to come here, our responsibility as politicians is to prioritise the needs of this country’s citizens above all else.
"Our nation cannot handle the current influx. It diminishes the quality of life for those who are already here.
"Immigration is occurring at a speed that overwhelms public services and at a scale that makes integrating people from vastly different cultures nearly impossible."
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