Cabinet row erupts as ministers try to delay introduction of tough new immigration system until 2024
Amber Rudd is allying with Chancellor Philip Hammond to insist a new visa system could only be brought in gradually
A FRESH Cabinet row has erupted over a bid to delay the full introduction of Britain’s tough new immigration system until as late as 2024.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has drawn up plans for a new visa-based system that will block unskilled workers from the EU.
But Ms Rudd is allying with Chancellor Philip Hammond to also insist it could only be brought in gradually.
The "soft Brexit" duo fear a sudden end to British businesses’ access to cheap new foreign workers could deliver a hammer blow to the economy.
Instead, the Chancellor and Home Secretary are pushing for a gradual transition into the new visa-based system - debated by the Cabinet’s Brexit sub-committee last week - that could last as long as five years.
One Cabinet minister who backs their plan told The Sun: “Withdrawing unskilled EU labour instantly would create a cliff edge for the hospitality and construction industries.
“Soundings from those sectors are making it ever more apparent that we will need a transition period into the new immigration system to protect vulnerable areas.”
Britain will not leave the EU until 2019 at the earliest, meaning the country faces eight more years in total of a big influx from Eastern Europe.
But the proposal has angered prominent Leave campaigners in the Cabinet, such as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Development Secretary Priti Patel, who are insisting on delivering their referendum pledge to slash numbers as soon as possible.
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Immigration campaigners also spoke out in anger at the plan and instead insisted firms should start preparing for work force changes now.
Migration Watch UK chairman Lord Green: “A transition period is completely unnecessary.
“It’s not as if all three million EU workers already here are going to disappear in a puff of smoke.
“There numbers will gradually decline, thus allowing time for employers here to make the necessary changes.
“For a start, they could increase the pay and conditions for British workers in these low paid occupations.”
Migration Watch UK is also releasing a paper today calling on farmers to look at boosting their wages so they can employ some of the 1.6 million Brits out of work instead of migrants.
It is the latest top table spat to break out among Theresa may’s top table in a long series over Brexit as rival factions battle for dominance.
It emerged as Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday admitted there are “lively debates” in the Cabinet over Brexit.
Downing Street also yesterday battled to insist the PM has not lost control of her ministers as tempers fray and ministers start to knife each other.
The PM’s official spokesman insisted Mrs May is “happy for there to be a debate”, adding: “This reflects the fact that the PM is pursuing a collective cabinet approach.
“Preparing fully for those negotiations means being prepared to hear differing views.”