Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick has said he wants to “get migration done”.
Mirroring the language that Boris Johnson used to describe Brexit, the former immigration minister told reporters after a fringe event at the Conservative Party’s conference that he wanted to “settle” migration so that leaders can address other issues.
He said that if he were Tory leader and the party came back to government, he would leave the European Convention on Human Rights as soon as possible without a referendum.
He said he did not accept that his stance on leaving the ECHR would split his party.
Mr Jenrick, who quit Rishi Sunak’s government after pushing for tougher measures over the Rwanda asylum scheme, is advocating for a cap on legal migration in the tens of thousands or fewer and for a stronger version of the Rwanda policy.
“If we have that cap, then we can stop talking about migration. I want to get migration done. This is a running sore in British politics.
“It’s important that we settle this by having serious answers to these challenges. Then we can talk about all the other issues that the public wants us to be discussing, like the economy and the NHS.”
Mr Jenrick is the frontrunner to take over from Mr Sunak as party leader.
He told supporters at a breakfast rally that the ECHR is a “leave or die” issue for the Tories.
“This is more than just ‘leave or amend’: frankly, our party doesn’t have a future unless we take a stand and fix this problem.
Immigration has so far featured heavily in the campaign leadership contest.
Kemi Badenoch, who is seen as Mr Jenrick’s closest rival, has been softer on the ECHR, saying that “if necessary” the UK should leave “international frameworks like the ECHR”.
Mr Jenrick told supporters on Monday: “It’s leave or remain. Remain means subject our people and our country to dangerous criminals on our streets, to terrorists on our streets, to a court creeping into every aspect of our lives without any democratic accountability, and it means that we never secure our borders.”
He called for the party conference to become the “crucible of conservatism”.
“Let’s use this opportunity to settle this issue once and for all, and for our party to have the answer to one of the biggest challenges facing our country.
“Let’s leave the ECHR and let’s get this done.”
