Conservative leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat pledges net migration cap

Conservative leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has pledged that the party will commit to a policy of an annual net migration cap of 100,000 if he becomes party leader.

In a speech in central London on Thursday, he also said that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is “already losing control of pay across the public sector” and warned that it could lead to rising inflation.

Mr Tugendhat said that “an honest and open conversation about population size is the only way to have a country that is happy with itself”.

Pointing to ideas such as reforms of visa policies and welfare, he said that “the pressure on housing, on infrastructure and on services is just one reason why the Conservative Party, under my leadership, will commit to a legally binding annual cap on non-British annual net migration of 100,000”.

Polling of Conservative party members from YouGov released earlier this week suggested that more than half of party members would “support” a policy of “a freeze in all migration coming into Britain for the next five years”.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Sir Keir warned of a “painful” Budget in the autumn, but Mr Tugendhat accused him of having “splashed the cash on his friends and left you to pick up the bill”.

In his speech, Mr Tugendhat said that Sir Keir is “already losing control of pay across the public sector, with other unions now demanding more and threatening more strike action. It feels like we are heading back towards the 1970s and the days of wage-price spirals.

“Just as importantly, it’s a missed opportunity for reform and a chance to make our public services better”.

The Conservatives are searching for a new leader after Rishi Sunak stood down after the party’s election defeat in July.

Mr Tugendhat also said that his party needs to acknowledge its own “failures”, such as increasing migration and increasing taxes.

He said that his party created “the biggest unaccountable quango in the western world” by making NHS England independent.

“By allowing it to centralise power we stopped trusting frontline professionals and local staff. By creating complex clinical commissioning procedures we created a bureaucracy instead of eliminating it.

“By putting so much power into the hands of the NHS chief executive, we made her responsible for everything but accountable for nothing,” he said.

Mr Tugendhat is one of six candidates for the Conservative leadership, with Priti Patel, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Mel Stride and Kemi Badenoch.

A new leader will be announced at the start of November, after Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget, due in October.

Shadow security minister Mr Tugendhat said that while he wishes that the contest was “quicker”, it is “important that the Conservative membership have the chance to see” their candidates.

Answering questions from journalists after his speech, Mr Tugendhat said: “The truth is, the Conservative Party membership is going to be making an incredibly important decision, not just for the leadership of the Conservative Party, that, of course, is important, nor indeed just to have somebody who can oppose Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves and can take Conservative arguments to oppose them across the country.

“But actually, they’ve got to choose somebody who can offer the kind of leadership that this country needs, that is transformational, that actually sees us set up over four years, so we’re ready for government in 2028/29.”

He added: “It is absolutely right that the person we choose is tested, because the truth is, opposition is difficult.

“It’s not like being a minister. You don’t get fed things by the civil service and asked to approve or disagree.

“You’ve got to get out there and make the noise and make the weather, and that is exactly why it’s important the Conservative membership have the chance to see.

“Of course, I wish it was quicker.”