Portrait of Theresa May
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Theresa May on Immigration Policy

Immigration control advocate (strong)

TL;DR

Theresa May strongly prioritised reducing net migration to sustainable, tens-of-thousands levels through stricter controls.

Key Points

  • As Home Secretary, she introduced policies aimed at making life difficult for those without legal status, termed the 'hostile environment'.

  • She maintained the ambition to reduce net migration figures to the tens of thousands annually, a target first set in 2010.

  • Her government initiated a New Plan for Immigration in 2018, focusing on an Australian-style points-based system after leaving the EU.

Summary

Theresa May's core position on immigration policy, established during her tenure as Home Secretary and continued as Prime Minister, was centred on reducing net migration to the tens of thousands and implementing robust control measures. As Home Secretary, she introduced policies intended to create a "hostile environment" for those in the UK illegally, which involved checks on access to services, aiming to make life so difficult for irregular migrants that they would leave voluntarily. This approach demonstrated a firm commitment to enforcing existing immigration law and prioritizing the reduction of overall numbers.

Following the 2016 referendum, her focus intensified on regaining border control, a key component of her premiership, especially in relation to the European Union. Her government continued the goal of capping or reducing net migration, viewing it as essential for social cohesion and for ensuring that public services were not overstretched. This stance was consistently framed as necessary to ensure immigration worked for the benefit of the entire country, rather than seeing it as an absolute positive or negative in itself.

Key Quotes

The aim is to create, here in Britain, a really hostile environment for illegal immigrants

Frequently Asked Questions

Theresa May consistently held the strong position of reducing net migration to the tens of thousands while she was in government. She viewed this reduction as necessary for public services and social cohesion. She pursued this aim through both policy implementation and subsequent negotiation strategy.

The 'hostile environment' was a policy she spearheaded as Home Secretary, designed to make it harder for people without the right to remain in the UK to access services. The intent was to encourage irregular migrants to leave voluntarily. This approach later drew significant criticism.

Yes, Theresa May's government signalled a move towards an Australian-style points-based immigration system. This was part of the stated plan following the referendum vote to regain control over the nation's borders. She saw this as a way to control who could come to work.