UK Edition
Jackson Carlaw 'must show he has clout with Boris Johnson by getting immigration plans changed'
Scottish Tory insiders say Mr Carlaw faces an early leadership test over the plans to drastically cut back on unskilled migration.
Jackson Carlaw must demonstrate he has "clout" with the Prime Minister by getting the UK Government's immigration proposals changed, senior Scottish Tories have warned.
In what was framed as an early test of Mr Carlaw's leadership of the party, insiders argued that he must win concessions over the blueprint to drastically cut back on "unskilled" migration.
Mr Carlaw was said to be "spitting tacks" about the the points-based plan, which farmers, the tourism industry and seafood processors have warned poses a major threat to their sectors.
He and other senior Scottish Tory MSPs were understood to be extremely frustrated that no one in the Scotland Office was available to publicly explain the policy when it was unveiled on Wednesday, giving the Nationalists a free run to attack it unchallenged.
The SNP attacked Douglas Ross, a junior Scotland Office Minister, for travelling to the Ukraine to be an assistant referee at a match on Thursday night between Shakhtar Donetsk and Benfica.
Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, broke his silence in an article arguing the Scottish sectors would had raised concerns would still be able to recruit workers from overseas.
He said the new system will "be less restrictive than at present", as the cap of the number of skilled workers has been removed and the salary threshold cut from £30,000 to £25,600.
In addition, he said migrants would only require the equivalent of Higher-level qualifications to be meet the benchmark compared to the degree-level post that must be applied for now.
This would allow Scots to employ foreign trawler crewmen, fish filleters and processors, butchers, slaughtermen and senior hospitality roles such as hotel and restaurant managers.
But NFU Scotland and the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA)said they were not reassured, with farming leaders arguing the plans were "completely unworkable for our industry."
The row intensified a week after Mr Carlaw won the Scottish Tory leadership contest. It is expected he will travel to London for a meeting with the Prime Minister a week on Monday.
"I don't think it will be easy but there has to be movement. Jackson has to demonstrate at this stage in his leadership that he has some clout with the Prime Minister," a senior Scottish Tory said.
"The negative coverage from normally very supportive industry groups has been put to Number 10 so they are aware of the backlash there has been."
Mr Jack said he was "pleased we have been able to devise a system that works for Scotland and the whole of the UK" and Nicola Sturgeon's plans for a separate Scottish visa are not required.
But Marc Crothall, the STA's chief executive, said: “It seems that Alister Jack is missing the point. Scotland needs population and workforce growth at all levels.
"Our tourism industry needs a workforce at all levels, not just at senior level and we need a migration policy that is affordable for businesses along with government support to provide suitable funding to encourage more people to enter our industry from grassroot level up."
Reacting to Mr Jack's article, Andrew McCornick, the NFU Scotland president, said he "does not believe that the UK Government has taken on board the serious concerns of Scotland’s farmers and crofters about the future immigration system."
He added: “The proposals will fall significantly short of providing options for seasonal and permanent non-UK workers to come and work in Scotland, and it will be Scotland’s farmers and crofters who will end up paying the price for this short-sighted policy."
Dr Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, wrote to Mr Carlaw urging him "to bring your personal influence to bear upon both the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister to make social care as a whole sector an area of priority in order to ensure that we can continue to recruit from outwith Scotland."
Mr Carlaw said: "We always said this was a work in progress, and that has been confirmed by the UK Government.
"It's everyone's ambition to create a system which honours the party's 2019 manifesto, and provides assistance to the businesses who depend on migrant labour."