Immigration exploded after Brexit. While the official line was "Let's keep the riffraff out". the reality was that the Tories used Brexit to bring in plenty of cheap labour from specific countries, and the income requirements are applied very selectively.

Foreign students were also encouraged to study here and remain after studying. Initially even family reunion immigration was encouraged, although that's changed now.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/5579/live/8ea3a...

The UK has been playing this game for centuries - bringing in cheap foreign labour on the quiet, then using that as political leverage with "We will protect you from the foreign invasion" messaging.

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arrowsmith 4 hours ago | parent [-]

And yet, insanely, the Tories still get called "anti-immigration".

They were the most pro-immigration government in British history, by far.

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jl6 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Another explanation is that they were 100% anti-immigration but also 200% incompetent at implementing their own goals.

	▲	hermitcrab 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Rather than being honest with people about the pros (of which there are many) and cons (of which there are some) of migration, the conservative government increased migration while telling people they were reducing it. That is malice, rather than incompetence. And now, here we are, facing the very really real possibility of loathsome grifter Farage as Prime Minister.

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SwamyM 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Same with the Republicans in the US and the deficit, "small" government, etc.

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johnnyanmac 38 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

US conservatives had the same issue before this year. They'd regularly vote against stronger immigration policies, because it turns out rich donors like under-paying non-citizens.