If the Tories want to stop being the 'nasty party' they must start with immigration

Now is the time for the Conservative Party to think seriously about the future of our immigration system. The Windrush crisis is a turning point – the Tories should change tack and lead the country in creating a more humane and rational approach to immigration.

If the Windrush debacle teaches us anything, it’s that we have a newfound public sympathy towards the children of Commonwealth. Boris Johnson knows which way the wind is blowing in his demand for an amnesty for long-standing Commonwealth immigrants, and as the cases of non-Caribbean Commonwealth-born citizens hit the headlines, our circle of sympathy will only widen.

Most people are largely ignorant about the facts of immigration. Ipsos Mori has shown in its surveys of public perceptions that a majority of people vastly overestimate the scale of immigration. However, people can be convinced if they are presented with the facts.

Evidence reveals that when people know the true numbers they are substantially less anti-immigration. But, the facts demand that we go further in defence of migration: immigrants increase GDP, create jobs, pay more taxes than they cost in public services and start more businesses.

That being said, politics is about more than facts: perception and positioning matter.

As long as the Conservative Party is dominated by people born into privileged households and maintains fiscally prudent policies, they will struggle to shake off the "nasty party" moniker.  A more pro-immigration stance – alongside pro-development and pro-lifestyle freedoms – would help shake this off.

In his efforts to detoxify the public’s perception of the Tories, David Cameron visited the Arctic to witness the effects of climate change first-hand. Nobody believed he was the next Al Gore, but it was enough to convince climate change realists that he would at least toe the line on international agreements.

Cameron was less careful about immigration. The infamous offhand promise to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands haunted his leadership, his failed Remain campaign and even Theresa May’s leadership.

As prime minister, May hasn’t lost any of her anti-immigration zeal, particularly in her bizarre beef with international students. Having successfully solved the real problem of bogus colleges, May should have shifted focus. The public doesn’t think foreign students are immigrants and even Ukip has suggested they be taken out of the net migration numbers.

Since the scrapping of the post-study work visa in 2012, the UK has become a significantly less attractive destination for foreign students.

At a recent roundtable, a delegate on a trade mission to India talked about her experience asking dozens of founders and CEOs of the country’s fastest growing companies where their children studied. It’s telling that not a single Indian entrepreneur said the UK – Canada, Australia and even the US are all more open to international students than we are.

Whether Thatcherism or New Labour, successful leadership is marked by their ability to present a clear vision that leads the public. As well as being the right thing to do for jobs and the economy, facing a hard-left Labour Party the Tories can use immigration policy to show they are more humane.

A post-Brexit, liberal immigration policy that includes an amnesty for all illegal immigrants, post-study visa options for the best and brightest international students, as well as a reformed Home Office that is able to properly track who and when people are entering and leaving the country would show courage and convince most of the next generation that the Tories have the hearts and heads to lead the country.