Kemi Badenoch has vowed a tough new approach on immigration as she warns that the United Kingdom (UK) cannot sustain current levels.
The Tory leader via the microblogging platform, X on Wednesday insisted she would speak about the topic ‘without fear’ admitting that the party had not done enough in government to curb immigration numbers.
She outlined her intention to set a strict annual cap on legal immigration, though she refused to say what it would be.
She further emphasized the needs for politicians to prioritize the needs of British citizens before considering how to assist others.
She said: “We need to talk about immigration. The truth is for nearly 30 years, mass migration has been far too high, under all governments, by all parties, and not just here, too high all across the Western worlds.
“We need a new approach. I am the new leader of the conservative party, and we are going to do things differently. I am saying no more; the system is broken, we can not go on like, and we need to change.
“But that was not the whole story. We may have tried to control numbers, but overall we did not deliver. Under my leadership, we are learning from our mistakes, and it is time for a new approach.
We need to change. Let’s break it down.
“First: if immigration is too quick, there is no integration. The ties that bind us start to fray. It doesn’t matter whether you are massively for immigration, or massively against it; without a shared national identity our country will suffer. When people come here, they must buy into the values, customs, and institutions that attracted them in the first place.
“Second: the political class cannot pretend that immigration comes only with benefits and no costs when we can all see the pressure on housing, roads, GPs, and wages. We must be honest. The failure of politics over the last thirty years has been to gloss over it or make it a fringe issue. That has to stop.
“Third: we can no longer be naïve. It’s nonsense that we have allowed a situation where judges deem safe countries to be unsafe. Where loopholes are wilfully exploited by opportunists. Where the latest legal ruses and wheezes are sent around the world on social media.
“Our institutions are failing; they have proven, that they are unable to determine who wants to contribute and who’s simply exploiting our openness.
“Britain is a high-trust society, and we can not let our systems be taken advantage of, so we need to do things differently. I want to rebuild the trust between the conservative party and the British people. I know we have a lot of work to do, but the first time is to accept that mistakes were made, and that is what i will do. We got it wrong, and we are going to learn. When done right, limited immigration can work for this country. But it is no surprise that many people don’t believe that anymore.
“The conservatives are going to deliver a detailed plan for immigration to put before you at the next elections, not the policies of Labour, which are going to fail, but a real plan that will, for the first time in 30 years, actually bring immigration right down and be honest with you about the trade-offs. It is time to tell the truth about immigration, and over the coming months, that is exactly what I am going to do.”