Cable immigration blunder overshadows PM’s India trip
THE Prime Minister’s visit to India got off to a shaky start last night, after Vince Cable made off-message comments about the coalition’s immigration policy, which has become a hot-button issue in the emerging superpower.
Cable, the business secretary, said the government was not willing to negotiate on plans for an immigration cap, but admitted he would prefer a more “liberal” approach.
He said: “It’s no great secret that in my department and me personally, we want to see… as liberal an immigration policy as it’s possible to have.
“We obviously have to listen to Indian concerns on the matter… I have met Indian businessmen in the UK who express concerns about this, and they are not the only ones.”
India is worried that a cap on economic migrants from outside the EU could reduce opportunities for Indian graduates. Earlier this month, Anand Sharma, the country’s commerce minister, told Cameron he had concerns over the policy.
Cameron and chancellor George Osborne are leading a delegation of senior cabinet ministers and high-profile business figures to India, in a bid to boost trade with the country.