Suella Braverman leads a Tory revolt on migration as figures over two years hit a record 1.3 million, with the former Home Secretary calling them a ‘slap in the face’ for voters

Suella Braverman led a growing Tory revolt over rocketing migration figures last night, describing them as a ‘slap in the face’ to voters.

The former home secretary insisted ‘enough is enough’ after bombshell data showed net migration hit a record 1.3million over the past two years.

The row intensified after the Office for National Statistics released data which it said showed a ‘marked change’ in post-Brexit immigration since 2021.

A steep rise in net migration, driven by arrivals from outside the EU, triggered the sharpest rise in the population of England and Wales since the 1960s baby boom.

Revised ONS figures released yesterday showed that net migration was 745,000 last year – roughly the population of Leeds.

The population of England and Wales has now passed 60million for the first time after growing at the fastest rate since 1962.

The former home secretary insisted ‘enough is enough’ after bombshell data showed net migration hit a record 1.3million over the past two years

Mrs Braverman, who made a blistering attack on Rishi Sunak when he sacked her last week, yesterday detailed how she would have shaken up the border system had he given her his backing.

‘The pressure on housing, the NHS, schools, wages and community cohesion is unsustainable,’ she said. ‘When do we say: enough is enough? 

‘We were elected on a pledge to reduce net migration, which was 229,000 in 2019. Today’s record numbers are a slap in the face to the British public who have voted to control and reduce migration at every opportunity.’

Urging Mr Sunak to ‘act now’, Mrs Braverman wrote on social media: ‘Brexit gave us the tools. It’s time to use them.’

In her resignation letter last week Mrs Braverman said she had struck a secret deal with Mr Sunak to ‘reduce overall legal migration as set out in the 2019 manifesto’.

But she claimed she was met with ‘equivocation, disregard and a lack of interest’ from Downing Street and accused Mr Sunak of ‘failing to deliver’. 

Yesterday she said her plan would have involved an annual cap on net migration – including healthcare workers – and raising the minimum salary threshold for a work visa by nearly £20,000 to £45,000.

Additionally, she would have limited the number of family members who could be brought to Britain by all visa holders, she said, and barred foreign students from accessing work at the end of their studies.

Mrs Braverman, who made a blistering attack on Rishi Sunak when he sacked her last week, yesterday detailed how she would have shaken up the border system had he given her his backing

Downing Street failed to act on repeated warnings that yesterday’s figures would be massively damaging, it is claimed.

New Home Secretary James Cleverly even moved to play down the numbers yesterday. ‘This figure is not showing a significant increase from last year’s figures and is largely in line with our own immigration statistics,’ he said. 

‘We have taken tough action to reduce migration, by tackling the substantial rise in the number of students bringing dependants to the UK – a change that will have a tangible impact on net migration.

‘And we are working across government on further measures to prevent exploitation and manipulation of our visa system, including clamping down on those that take advantage of the flexibility of the immigration system.’

One insider said Mr Cleverly appeared out of touch with reality by ‘trying to brush it all off as a positive thing’. Tory backbenchers were aghast at the figures. A spokesman for the New Conservatives group, led by Miriam Cates, Danny Kruger and Sir John Hayes, said: ‘The word ‘existential’ has been used a lot in recent days but this really is ‘do or die’ for our party.

Downing Street failed to act on repeated warnings that yesterday’s figures would be massively damaging, it is claimed

‘Each of us made a promise to the electorate. We don’t believe that such promises can be ignored. The Government must propose, today, a comprehensive package of measures to meet the manifesto promise by the time of the next election. The Prime Minister, Chancellor and new Home Secretary must show that they stand by the promises on which we were elected to Parliament. We must act now.’

Former Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said the figures pointed to a serious political failure in controlling post-Brexit borders. ‘I’m embarrassed that we haven’t achieved what we set out to achieve,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme.

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Another former Cabinet minister, Sir Simon Clarke, also called for urgent curbs.

‘This level of legal immigration is unsustainable both economically and socially,’ he said. ‘There is no public mandate for it, it is beyond our public services’ capacity to support and it undercuts UK productivity and wages by substituting cheaper foreign labour.’

Fellow Tory MP Jonathan Gullis said the ‘completely unacceptable’ figures would ‘rightly anger’ the British people, as he added his voice to calls for drastic action.

A Cabinet source described the figures as ‘horrific’, while another said they were ‘really, really bad’, adding: ‘It is quite clear that we have got to get a grip of this quickly now.’

Another Conservative source said it was a ‘pretty damning day for the Tory party’, adding: ‘I’ve no clue how Downing Street have let it get to this stage.’

The Government’s response could involve barring foreign health workers from bringing relatives with them when they take a job in the UK, it is understood.

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