The New Conservatives, a parliamentary group co-founded by Devizes MP Danny Kruger, has published a condemning statement directed towards the current conservative government.

This is the second major statement published in the last 10 days, the previous being a damning letter accusing the Conservative Party of “walking away” from those who voted for it in 2019.

Now the New Conservatives are calling for action on immigration, following revised figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The latest numbers show that net migration to the UK hit a record-breaking 745,000 in 2022.

The New Conservatives’ statement, published on Thursday, November 23, said: “The word existential has been used a lot in recent days but this really is do or die for our party.

“Each of us made a promise to the electorate.

“We don’t believe that such promises can be ignored.

“The Government must propose, today, a comprehensive package of measures to meet the manifesto promise by the time of the next election.

“We will assess any such package and report publicly on whether it will meet the promise made to the electorate.”

Kruger shared the statement on X – formerly known as Twitter - and reiterated his views on immigration.

He said: “High rates of immigration depress wages, reduce investment in skills and technology, put unsustainable pressure on housing and public services, and threaten community cohesion.”

According to the ONS, the increase in non-EU immigration in the year ending June 2023 was mainly driven by migrants coming for work, largely attributed to those coming on health and care visas; in contrast, those arriving on humanitarian routes decreased from 19% to 9% over the same period. 

Pete Force-Jones, a parliamentary candidate for East Wiltshire, recently criticised the opinions expressed through Kruger’s group.

Force-Jones said: “I would point out that the priorities expressed by his very right-wing faction of today's Tory party (and even those coming from the PM himself) are not shared by myself, nor I believe are they the pressing priorities of the majority living here in what will become the East Wiltshire Constituency after the General Election, nor the UK as a whole.

“I do believe we need a new type of politics, but that is not one of extremist politicians stoking needless culture wars, playing to the right-wing press or 'othering’ minorities whilst ignoring increasing numbers of the people that live in their constituencies.”

Kruger is an evangelical Christian and was political secretary to Boris Johnson in 2019.

He has been the MP for Devizes since 2019 when he took over from fellow conservative, Claire Perry.