i doubt any gov will try and cap Brits or Europeans bringing their families to the uk
i can see the gov losing any court cases, they have a crap record of winning any immigration court cases. (one i remember is the hsmp one)
students visa will suffer most , by far the biggest number of visa's issued. maybe they will stop students bring their spouses and families ? ..
they could be talking about those on workpermits (tier 2)