The race to succeed Rishi Sunak as leader of the Conservative Party has intensified, with immigration and Indian visas taking center stage. As the Conservative Party conference began in Birmingham on Sunday, former immigration minister Robert Jenrick proposed stricter visa regulations for Indian nationals unless India agrees to accept its citizens who are in the UK illegally.
Shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch, Jenrick’s main competitor, also addressed immigration issues, stating that new migrants from India have contributed to societal unrest in the UK.
“There are many people who have recently come to this country who have brought views from their countries of origin that have no place here,” Badenoch said in an interview with the BBC. “As equalities minister, I saw people bringing cultural disputes from India to the streets of Leicester. We need to make sure that when people come to this country, they leave their previous differences behind. This is not a controversial thing to say,” she added.
Badenoch’s comments referenced the conflicts in Leicester that occurred in September 2022, following an India-Pakistan cricket match.
Jenrick noted in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that while the UK issued 250,000 visas to Indian nationals last year, approximately 100,000 Indian citizens are estimated to be residing illegally in the UK. He criticized the limited number of deportations to India, despite the India-UK Migration and Mobility Partnership, which aims to facilitate the return of illegal migrants.
“The government must stop other countries from exploiting our generosity by imposing severe visa restrictions and cutting foreign aid to those who do not take back their nationals,” he said.
As the four-day Tory conference progresses, Jenrick and Badenoch are competing against former Cabinet ministers James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat. The next voting round will determine the final two candidates, after which Conservative Party members will participate in an online ballot to select the winner. The result is expected on November 2.
This leadership contest follows Sunak’s resignation as Conservative leader after the party’s loss in the general election in July. He remains in the role of interim leader until a successor is appointed.
