Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Theresa May says she still aims to reduce immigration to under 100,000

'We believe sustainable numbers are the tens of thousands,' says Prime Minister

Tom Peck
Thursday 20 April 2017 18:22 EDT
Comments
The Prime Minister made the remarks on a visit to a factory in Enfield
The Prime Minister made the remarks on a visit to a factory in Enfield (Reuters)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Theresa May has restated her commitment to reducing net migration to below 100,000.

Speaking in Enfield during a campaign visit to a factory, the prime minister said she would not abandon the target.

“We’ve been very clear, as I was as home secretary for six years, that it’s important that we have net migration that is in sustainable numbers. We believe sustainable numbers are the tens of thousands,” she told Sky News.

“Leaving the European Union enables us to control our borders in relation to people coming from the EU as well as those who are coming from outside the EU."

The Independent is campaigning for the target to be dropped, with a steep reduction in immigration numbers posing a severe risk to the country's economy.

Ms May also criticised Labour over Jeremy Corbyn's refusal to rule out a second referendum on the terms of Brexit, as he avoided a question on the subject after his speech on Thursday morning.

But the leader later released a statement saying a second referendum was not Labour policy and would not feature in its manifesto.

Ms May said: “What we saw from Jeremy Corbyn this morning was his refusal to rule out the possibility of a second referendum over Brexit. That’s wrong.

"People voted in the referendum last year to leave the European Union. That is what the government needs to put into place. And his failure to rule that second referendum out shows the coalition of chaos that we would have under Jeremy Corbyn."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in