Rishi Sunak reverses Truss plan to allow immigration to rise

New PM ditches predecessor’s plans for series of supply-side reforms to boost growth

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has signalled he wants to rein in immigration, in line with the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto commitment to get overall numbers down over the course of the following five years.

Mr Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss clashed with home secretary Suella Braverman over proposals to let numbers rise in the hope of boosting economic growth, and the spat is believed to have played a part in Ms Braverman’s dismissal last week.

Before her resignation, Ms Truss is thought to have been planning to liberalise work visa rules for hard-to-fill jobs like social care and fruit-picking, as part of set of pro-growth “supply-side” reforms, also featuring relaxation of planning rules and workplace red tape.