Amber Rudd made a failed attempt to persuade Theresa May to remove students from the Conservatives’ pledge to reduce annual net migration below the tens of thousands, say allies.
The home secretary is understood to have raised the possibility in initial talks with the prime minister about her brief during the summer. Mrs May rejected the plea, demanding a fresh crackdown as part of a wider drive to reduce non-EU migration.
Ms Rudd duly announced a consultation on further restrictions in her speech to the Tory party conference flagging “tougher rules for lower-quality courses”. As well as tighter rules restricting what work students’ family members are permitted to do, the consultation is understood to be targeting institutions.
Options include the introduction of minimum course fees