Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Home Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Pete Wishart Excerpts
Monday 5th January 2015

(9 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Theresa May Portrait Mrs May
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My hon. Friend was attempting to tempt me, Mr Speaker, but I am grateful for your guidance in this matter. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the Prime Minister is the only party leader who has set out an intention to deal with free movement in the European Union and to do it in a way that enables us to do what everybody wants and to have the degree of control over our borders that we wish to have.

Pete Wishart Portrait Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP)
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Will not the Home Secretary just concede that her immigration cap did not work and could never work, because we live in an interconnected, globalised world of which the free movement of people is a key feature? Will she agree that any future attempt at a UKIP-inspired immigration cap will be as disastrous as the last UKIP-inspired immigration cap?

Theresa May Portrait Mrs May
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I said in my original answer that we have been blown off course from the net migration target. The hon. Gentleman says that it is impossible to bring about changes in net migration, but I remind him that migration from outside the European Union has come down to levels close to those of the 1990s.