How UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s new anti-immigration policy has put him at risk

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s position is in jeopardy after he faced a backlash from his party against his government’s controversial anti-immigration plan. Rishi Sunak’s bid to curb rising immigration into the country has been met with the resignation of UK Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick.

‘stop the boats’

UK PM unveils ‘Stop The Boats’ plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda There seems to be an attempt to pull the Conservative Party in opposite directions because of the differences between hardliners and moderates.

“The stakes are too high for the country not to pursue the robust defenses necessary to freeze this program and end the enjoyment of dangerous legal challenges denying its proposed ban,” Robert Jenrick wrote in his resignation letter.

In his reply, Rishi Sunak said Jenkin’s “opposition to it is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation”.

In June, the Court of Appeal ruled that the UK government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was illegal because the African country could not be considered a safe third country. In November the UK Supreme Court upheld the ruling and said Rwanda was not a safe third country.

But Rishi Sunak’s administration issued emergency legislation to ensure Rwanda was considered a safe country.

The law will be put to a vote on December 12. Reuters reported that some members of parliament in his party said he was likely to face a leadership challenge for the first time since taking office a year ago.

So far only one Conservative MP, Andrea Jenkins, has publicly called for a vote of no confidence against Rishi Sunak, but she said six of her peers had done so privately. The Tories are trailing Labor in opinion polls for the January 2025 election.

No UK Prime Minister has served a full term since former Prime Minister David Cameron resigned after Brexit.

The new immigration scheme and how it affects Indians

The UK government’s recent visa crackdown to reduce immigration figures has included a major rise in the minimum salary threshold for British citizens and permanent residents.

Under the new immigration crackdown, foreign care workers will be banned from bringing family members and skilled professionals will have to meet an annual salary threshold of GBP 38,700, up from the current GBP 26,200.

“We will stop the immigration that undercuts the wages of British workers,” James, the UK home secretary, smartly told lawmakers. “We will create a new immigration payroll with a reduced number of occupations,” he added.

Analysts have flagged that the steep rise will have a wide-ranging impact on low-income family plans. Businesses and unions flagged the measures as counterproductive due to labor shortages and slow growth in the economy.

Indian industry and student groups have warned the UK Prime Minister-led government of “unintended consequences” of the new measures, which could lead to skilled Indians opting for alternative economies.