Theresa May’s appearance in the House of Commons for the most recent round of prime minister’s questions (PMQ) is set to be overshadowed by the leak of the Home Office’s post-Brexit UK immigration plan.
Dated from the beginning of August, the leak revealed plans for freedom of movement to be removed as soon as Brexit takes effect, as well as plans to offer low-skilled workers from the EU two-year UK work permits and high-skilled workers three to five year UK work permits.
The leaked documents were defended by defence secretary Michael Fallon, who stated that firm proposals were likely to be published later in 2016 with details of the government’s full manifesto.
“There’s a balance to be struck. We want to attract to this country highly skilled people to come here and make a contribution to our society and put down roots here,” he said. “We also have to make sure British companies train up British workers and give opportunities to our college leavers.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has stated that he thinks the document will “strangle” the Capital’s economy, however other members of the Labour party stated they would wait until the final plan was released until judging the manifesto.
“Labour wants fair rules and reasonable management of migration in accordance with the needs of our economy and our values as a party,” shadow home secretary Diane Abott said, in the party’s official response to the document.