Yvette Cooper came unstuck this morning as she refused to spell out how many immigrants per year she wants to see come to Britain under her new plan. Ms Cooper has rejected a cap on numbers, citing David Cameron’s failure to meet his ‘tens of thousands pledge’.

However this morning she refused to give the BBC even a rough estimate of how many migrants per year may still be flooding into Britain by the time of the next general election. Asked for a simple “ball park figure”, the Home Secretary merely said she wants to see a “substantial reduction” from last year’s net migration figure of over 700,000. She told BBC Breakfast: “We’re not doing the same thing that previous Conservative governments repeatedly did. They had loads of targets and different numbers, and they ended up not meeting any of them and often doing the opposite.”

DON’T MISS

Powered by 

Keir Starmer dealt fresh blow after Jacqui Smith’s BBC Newsnight ‘car crash’ interview

Comments

Labour civil war erupts as Keir Starmer sparks fury with migration plans

Comments

Keir Starmer issued major warning over Donald Trump’s US deal by top economist

Comments

Migration LIVE: Keir Starmer faces fury from all sides – including his own MPs – over plan

Comments

Starmer humiliation as Trump considers sending migrants to Rwanda hotels paid for by UK

Comments

Radical plan for ‘Deportation Bill’ emerges in bid to end borders crisis

Comments

UK immigration crackdown explained as Labour announces new rules

Comments

Europe Minister won’t reveal Brexit ‘reset’ plans until key date

Comments

UK ‘could add an Edinburgh every year’ with net migration tipped to exceed forecasts

Comments

Better English standards and decade in UK to be demanded before citizenship

Comments

Keir Starmer dealt devastating blow live on ITV’s Loose Women as Reform threat advances

Comments

Humiliated Keir Starmer ramps up Brexit betrayal with huge announcement coming on May 19

Comments

PM unveils UK immigration crackdown as ‘foreigners use student visas as back door to UK’

Comments

Tories make huge Brexit pledge as Labour slammed over EU in Commons

Comments

The huge new rules that will make it harder for immigrants to become British

Comments

Tories slam Labour’s plans to slash migration by 50,000 ahead of crackdown – ‘too little’

Comments

‘Exodus’ warning as Home Office declares industries are to blame for migrant crisis

Comments

Furious Nigel Farage row erupts on GB News as Tory MP rages ‘jumping down my throat’

Comments

Labour accused of ‘humiliating U-turn’ over migration crackdown

Comments

‘Will Starmer’s new masterplan ‘substantially’ reduce migration? The answer has to be no!’

Comments

Keir Starmer dealt fresh blow after Jacqui Smith’s BBC Newsnight ‘car crash’ interview

Comments

Labour civil war erupts as Keir Starmer sparks fury with migration plans

Comments

Keir Starmer issued major warning over Donald Trump’s US deal by top economist

Comments

Migration LIVE: Keir Starmer faces fury from all sides – including his own MPs – over plan

Comments

Starmer humiliation as Trump considers sending migrants to Rwanda hotels paid for by UK

Comments

Radical plan for ‘Deportation Bill’ emerges in bid to end borders crisis

Comments

UK immigration crackdown explained as Labour announces new rules

Comments

Europe Minister won’t reveal Brexit ‘reset’ plans until key date

Comments

UK ‘could add an Edinburgh every year’ with net migration tipped to exceed forecasts

Comments

Better English standards and decade in UK to be demanded before citizenship

Comments

Keir Starmer dealt devastating blow live on ITV’s Loose Women as Reform threat advances

Comments

Humiliated Keir Starmer ramps up Brexit betrayal with huge announcement coming on May 19

Comments

PM unveils UK immigration crackdown as ‘foreigners use student visas as back door to UK’

Comments

Tories make huge Brexit pledge as Labour slammed over EU in Commons

Comments

The huge new rules that will make it harder for immigrants to become British

Comments

Tories slam Labour’s plans to slash migration by 50,000 ahead of crackdown – ‘too little’

Comments

‘Exodus’ warning as Home Office declares industries are to blame for migrant crisis

Comments

Furious Nigel Farage row erupts on GB News as Tory MP rages ‘jumping down my throat’

Comments

Labour accused of ‘humiliating U-turn’ over migration crackdown

Comments

‘Will Starmer’s new masterplan ‘substantially’ reduce migration? The answer has to be no!’

Comments

Keir Starmer dealt fresh blow after Jacqui Smith’s BBC Newsnight ‘car crash’ interview

Comments

Labour civil war erupts as Keir Starmer sparks fury with migration plans

Comments

Keir Starmer issued major warning over Donald Trump’s US deal by top economist

Comments

Migration LIVE: Keir Starmer faces fury from all sides – including his own MPs – over plan

Comments

Starmer humiliation as Trump considers sending migrants to Rwanda hotels paid for by UK

Comments

Radical plan for ‘Deportation Bill’ emerges in bid to end borders crisis

Comments

UK immigration crackdown explained as Labour announces new rules

Comments

“I think that has undermined the credibility of the whole system.”

An incredulous Jon Kay exclaimed: “So no target now?”

Ms Cooper dodged the question, continuing: “We’ve already been reducing the number of visas granted and those updated figures will be produced in a couple of weeks time.”

“The particular measures we announced yesterday on the skilled worker visa, on the care worker visa and also on settlement and English language requirements are estimated to reduce visas further by another 100,000 and then we have some other measures on top of that including new workforce strategies in other key areas, including family and asylum reforms as well.”

“We’re just going to get on and do this step by step, and people will judge us by the results they see.”

Mr Kay insisted that BBC viewers would “still like some kind of figure, I think a lot of people want to know a number.”

He cited Reform UK’s policy of having immigration ‘net zero’, where the number coming in would have to roughly match the number leaving in a given year.

Ms Cooper insisted: “We’re doing this in a practical way. If you just pick targets out, nobody will believe you anymore.”

Mr Kay hit back: “You must have a target? The Home Office must have a target. You’re coming out with all these documents and plans, you’re looking at the maths all the time – you must have a target?”

Chuckling, Ms Cooper hit back that he was repeating the same question. She claimed: “There’s a reason the Conservatives did this Jon, they picked multiple targets and each time the ended ripping them up and I think it just undermined the credibility and confidence of the whole system.”

She was confronted by comments from the government’s own chief migration adviser, Professor Brian Bell, who this morning said the new changes would leave net migration hovering at between 250,000 and 300,000 people per year.

A fall from the current 720,000, but substantially higher than the level most Brits would be happy with.

Asked whether this is ‘roughly’ the kind of number she’s now expecting to see enter the country, Ms Cooper once again refused to answer.

Mr Kay said: “If you want to ‘take back control’ as the PM said yesterday, and want us to have confidence, numbers would help build confidence wouldn’t it?”

Ms Cooper merely repeated her claim that because the Tories broke their promises on a migration cap, she would not set one.