Priti Patel’s vague pledge to lower immigration would be devastating for the UK economy

Editorial: While the provocation of fear and hatred has been a popular election tactic in the past, parroting on about a points-based system is not an answer to anything

It is a great pity that Priti Patel’s “resting face” is the appearance of a smirk. For a home secretary, dealing often with some of the most sensitive of issues, it is particularly unfortunate. It makes anything she says on immigration, for example, even harder to take seriously.

On the other hand, it has been difficult to take the Tories’ meandering stance on net migration seriously for many years. Even the most magisterial of figures might find it difficult to defend it with a straight face. Ms Patel declares that under the Conservatives, “overall immigration” will be “lower”. It has a certain superficial appeal, but it has the structural integrity of a cardboard box in a flood. Wary of specifying any numbers, because that is a proven route to failure and embarrassment, the Tories just parrot on about a points-based system. It is not an answer to anything.

Here, then, are the questions so far left unanswered by Ms Patel and her junior minister Brandon Lewis – which may, or may not, be settled in the Conservative manifesto.