Suella Braverman, the home secretary for Britain, expressed concerns about a potential trade agreement with India, stating that it would go against the principles of the Brexit vote if the two countries adopted an open-border immigration policy.
Braverman expressed his worries about the upcoming free trade agreement, which is scheduled to be completed by Diwali, in an interview with a magazine, saying that it might lead to more immigration.
According to Braverman, the majority of immigrants who overstay their visas in this country are Indians. The home secretary also noted that a cooperation agreement with the Indian government, which was struck in 2021 to stop Indian migrants from overstaying their visas, hasn’t always been effective.
In 2020, 20,706 Indians overstayed their visas, more than any other nationality, according to Home Office records, however other nations had larger percentages of overstayers. In the 12 months leading up to March 2020, there were 473,600 Indians whose visas were set to expire; of these, 452,894 are known to have gone, making up 4.4% of those who overstayed their visas.
Prime Minister Liz Truss is eager to finalize the pact with India, despite the home secretary’s criticism of the free-trade agreement’s ripple consequences. This occurs as the UK economy is in disarray. Due to tax cuts promised by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in late September, the pound experienced a significant decline, reaching its lowest value versus the dollar. This made matters worse for an economy already dealing with high inflation.
Reverting to previous prime minister David Cameron’s directive to limit migration to tens of thousands would be Braverman’s preferred course of action. The home secretary claims that decreasing domestic employment openings would be a better policy move than increasing immigration.
News Mania Desk
