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The key quote
‘Under Jeremy Corbyn’s plan for unlimited and uncontrolled immigration, [net migration] could increase to over 840,000 people’
The Conservatives
Analysis
Labour hasn’t published its manifesto. The Conservatives don’t know what its policy is. The Conservatives’ calculations are not credible.
In September, the Labour conference approved a proposal to “maintain and extend free movement rights”. Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott was quoted saying the conference motion would become part of the party’s plans for government.
The Conservatives say this means Labour wants every country in the world to have the same free movement rights to the UK that EU countries currently do.
This isn’t a fair interpretation. A broad conference motion is not the same as an official policy, nor can it be the basis for working out what immigration will be.
In interviews with the BBC, Jeremy Corbyn has signalled the policy focus will be on people who have family with settled status in the UK.
The Conservatives make extreme assumptions about the impact of this hypothetical global free movement to the UK, such as expecting people from far-flung countries to come here at a similar rate to people from Hungary in the years after 2004.
Verdict
Not a serious contribution to the election debate.
Full Fact is the UK’s independent factchecking organisation. For sources and more factchecks go to fullfact.org
