Downing Street has seized on a Swiss referendum result to argue that Britain can thrive outside the European Union's constraints on immigration. Swiss voters narrowly rejected a proposal to cap the population at 0.2% growth, a policy that echoed the EU's freedom of movement principle. For the Prime Minister, this is ammunition. A senior No. 10 source told me: 'The Swiss have shown you can run a modern economy without Brussels dictating your borders.' The message is being aimed squarely at Eurosceptic backbenchers, who have been restless over the government's handling of post-Brexit immigration rules.
The Swiss vote was a close-run thing: 51.6% against, 48.4% in favour, on a 59% turnout. The proposal, from the right-wing Swiss People's Party, would have required the government to renegotiate treaties with the EU. Sound familiar? The parallel with Britain's own Brexit struggles is not lost on the lobby. One cabinet minister told me: 'The Swiss are discovering what we knew. Sovereignty is a messy business, but it's ours.'
Downing Street's rapid response is a clear play to the gallery of Conservative MPs who fear the party is losing its Brexit mojo. With the government's own migration figures still sticky, and a by-election defeat in Wellingborough fresh in the memory, the PM needs a win. The Swiss result provides a narrative: that countries can manage their own borders without economic collapse.
But the optics are not all rosy. The Swiss economy is heavily dependent on EU talent. Tech firms and manufacturers warned that the cap would choke growth. No. 10's insistence that 'we are not Switzerland' is a tacit admission that the comparison is imperfect. Still, for a government under pressure, the message is good enough. The lobby sees a pattern: the PM's team is building a case that Brexit's promise of controlled immigration is deliverable. Expect more references to Zurich and Geneva in the coming weeks. This is about shoring up the base before the local elections. The game continues.
