Crisis for Theresa May as Amber Rudd resigns

She had been forced to issue five apologies in the past week — four of them over her department’s handling of the Windrush crisis and immigration targets.

And last night came the final straw for Amber Rudd, publication of new claims that she misled Parliament over targets for removing illegal migrants.

Rudd’s resignation is the fifth of this 10 month old Parliament. Nearly a quarter of May’s second Cabinet have now quit since June 2017.

Within minutes of her going, the spotlight had turned to Prime Minister Theresa May.

“It’s clear that Amber Rudd has ended up, at least partly, being the fall guy to protect the prime minister. Theresa May must face questions now given these dreadful failures largely took place under her watch as home secretary.” tweeted Liberal Democrat spokesman Ed Davey.

What were those failures?

On June 21, 1948, the HMT Empire Windrush docked at the port of Tilbury, near London, with a few hundred Jamaicans on board. The age of mass immigration had begun.

There are now around 600,000 people of Afro-Caribbean descent in the UK. And in the last two weeks, many of the very first newcomers have been at the centre of a huge immigration scandal in which it has emerged that the Home Office wrongly deported some of the Windrush generation and denied public services to many others.

While she was home secretary, Theresa May promised to create a “hostile environment” for illegal immigrants, preventing them access to public services.

A recent Ipsos Mori poll found that 54% want immigration reduced. Polls also show that concerns over immigration were the main driver of the Brexit vote.

But many others are content with Britain’s diverse society.

Historically, Britain has had a very stable population. In 1951 only 4.2% of people in Britain were born abroad. That figure had trebled 60 years later, and the percentage of immigrants and their descendants is projected to increase in future decades.

Can May survive?

Of course, say some commentators. There are three main arguments. First the underlying policy of being tough on immigration has widespread popular support and ordinary people are less upset than the liberal media. Second Theresa May has done nothing wrong. Third there is no strong candidate to replace her.

“How superficial!” say her enemies. She who promised strong and stable government is running one of the most unstable regimes of modern times. Ministers are toppling like dominoes. After a full year of Brexit negotiations nobody knows what is happening. Her party is seething with plots and whispers. And the local government elections this week will be disastrous. She will be out by autumn.