James Cleverly outlines his migration plan
Rishi Sunak has been urged to offer a referendum on slashing immigration in a last-ditch attempt to turn the Tories' fortunes around.
Academic Professor Matt Goodwin warned the Prime Minister is leading the Conservatives to a drubbing at the next general election.
In an open letter to Mr Sunak, he suggested pledging a referendum on cutting net migration to around 100,000 a year within six months of the election and putting the issue at the centre of his campaign.
Writing on his Substack, Prof Goodwin said: "You offer the British people - once and for all - the chance to have their say on the one issue they care very deeply about, feel very unhappy about, and want to change.
"You offer the country a once-in-a-lifetime, historic opportunity to have a say on the issue which for more than half a century has been kept off the table by out-of-touch politicians and a new elite who are not interested in representing the values and voice of ordinary people."
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Prof Goodwin, author of Values, Voice and Virtue: The New British Politics, said the move would show he is "the prime minister who genuinely understands what Brexit was about".
He said it would help win back disillusioned 2019 Tory voters and Reform UK supporters.
He added that it would also "outflank" Labour by "exposing their support for the current record levels of immigration", as well as appealing to a chunk of the party's voters who want to see net migration brought down.
Prof Goodwin said: "Only by making this radical offer, only by promising a referendum on reducing mass immigration, will you not only pull off one of the biggest shocks in history but do something else that is much more important —you will strengthen the country, you will unite a large majority of people behind you, and you will show them that a different kind of politics is not just desirable but entirely possible.
"This is the only card you have left to play. Only you can decide whether you want to play it or, instead, lead your party to one of the biggest defeats in its history and the country into an ongoing crisis which we all know will only worsen under future Labour governments."
It comes as the Tories are trailing behind Labour by around 20 points in opinion polls, while Nigel Farage-linked Reform UK has hit 13 percent.
Meanwhile, legal migration has surged in recent years despite the Conservatives promising to bring down numbers at the 2019 general election.
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Official estimates show net migration - the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country - reached a record 745,000 in 2022.
Home Secretary James Cleverly in December unveiled measures which he said would bring down net migration levels by around 300,000.
Read Prof Goodwin's full open letter here.
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