Chichester MP's question '˜hopelessly long'

During oral questions in the House of Commons today (Monday December 5), Home Secretary Amber Rudd was asked by one Labour MP about what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues about the effect of unskilled migration on levels of employment.

She told the Commons the Tory Government would be ‘restricting immigration when they move to leave the European Union’.

Andrew Tyrie, Tory MP for Chichester, said: “Will the Home Secretary agree that foreign students should be removed from the tens of thousands target, and does she also agree that since the data is extremely poor, we should strain every sinew to try and get better quality data on the basis of which we can form a judgement about whether and if so how we can ensure that exports, which are what students are, are maximised in this country?”

Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow said: “Hopelessly long. I’m sorry, but hopeless. We’ve got to do a lot better than that.”

Ms Rudd replied: “Students play an important role in contributing to the economy and are most welcome in the UK.

“The internationally recognised definition of a migrant is someone coming here for over 12 months, so they are likely to stay within that definition although I’m more than aware there are different views on this matter.”

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Go to www.chichester.co.uk/christmas/