Anneliese Dodds, the Labor leader, was unable to say whether the party wanted net migration to rise or fall after Rishi Sunak admitted that immigration to Britain was “too high” (see post below at 07.46).
The Prime Minister said he was “committed” to bringing the level down to the level it was when he entered No.10.
Ms Dodds was pressed repeatedly on the issue this morning but was unable to give a clear answer as to what the direction of travel for the numbers should be.
Asked whether Labor wanted net migration to go up or down, Ms Dodds told Sky News: “Well actually Labor thinks that setting a net migration target is unreasonable and it seems that even Rishi Sunak knows.”
Asked again whether Labor wanted net migration to go up or down, Ms Dodds said: “As I said, it’s not reasonable to have this kind of target-based approach…”.
Asked again whether the numbers should go up or down, Ms Dodds said: “Well, what we would see if we had a properly functioning immigration system would be potentially in some areas where there is a short-term need for skills that can be seen. in the short term actually the people who are coming in increase in number but in the medium and long term a reduction because we would be training people in our own country.”
