UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – British PM Keir Starmer pledged to lower migration but rejected a fixed cap, unveiling new rules aimed at reducing pressure on housing and public services.
As reported by The Telegraph, Labour leader Keir Starmer assured the public of reduced immigration but ruled out introducing a fixed quota for yearly net migrant intake.
What did Keir Starmer say about cutting migration?
At a Downing Street news conference, the Prime Minister introduced the long-awaited immigration white paper.
Sir Keir stated,
“Make no mistake, this plan means migration will fall. That is a promise. But I want to be very clear on this. If we do need to take further steps, if we do need to do more to release pressure on housing and our public services then mark my words, we will.”
The Prime Minister declined to set an annual cap, arguing that such a measure would not be “sensible.”
In response to a request for more than just a promise, Mr Starmer stated,
“We want to significantly reduce migration. I am absolutely making clear that is what it will do and that if we need to go further we will, so that is the promise I make to your viewers.”
He said,
“I don’t think it is sensible to put a hard-edged cap on it. That has been done in one form or another for the best part of 10 years by different prime ministers. The only thing that links those prime ministers and the various caps or quotas or limits they put in place is every single one of them failed.”
Labour leader insisted the crackdown was intended because he thought it was the right approach, not due to political pressure.
Mr Starmer argued that recent years have shown the idea of higher immigration driving economic growth to be false.
He said,
“The pure theory that simply higher migration numbers necessarily leads to higher growth I think has been tested in the last four years.”
The prime minister added,
“We quadrupled [net migration] in actually a very short time and I think whatever political persuasion you are it is quite extraordinary that net migration quadrupled in four years. We have never seen that before in this country but growth didn’t shift, it stayed stagnant.”
What did Matt Vickers say about Labour imposing an annual immigration cap?
Matt Vickers, the shadow minister for crime and policing, said there should “definitely” be a “realistic” cap on immigration numbers.
He proposed that Labour should follow the Tories’ approach and commit to setting an annual cap on immigration to Britain.
Mr Vickers said,
“There is no cap at the moment. There is no line that gets crossed, no line in the sand that we say is failure or success. We’re saying today there definitely should be a line. Parliament should be accountable for it.”
He stated,
“They should look at what the needs of our economy (are), they should look at how many people are coming in, what we should set as a realistic target, we should be getting on with that job.”
What did Kate Forbes say about the UK Government’s plan to tighten immigration rules?
Kate Forbes, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, expressed “absolute astonishment” over reports of the UK Government’s proposal to tighten immigration rules, including banning the recruitment of care workers from abroad.
She said Scotland faced “demographic challenges”, and that
“one of the most pressing issues that investors, developers, public services tell us right now is being able to recruit a workforce.”
The SNP politician stated,
“With a small population of about five million people, Scotland needs a distinct immigration system, a distinct approach to the immigration system, we have shared that with the UK Government.”
She said,
“But you talk about restrictions to care workers, which I think is absolutely baffling to anybody currently working in the care sector, talking about restrictions for university students being able to stay on after their degrees, when we know so much of Scotland’s economic growth has come from international students that have chosen to be based in Scotland.”
Ms Forbes stated,
“So our approach remains that if the UK Government is not going to do it, then Scotland needs a distinct approach to an immigration system, Scottish visa or otherwise,”
adding,
“I am in no doubt whatsoever that our care system is going to suffer from the changes that reportedly are going to be made today.”
Key points of Labour’s immigration white paper
- Migrants must wait up to 10 years to apply for citizenship; no automatic right to apply after 5 years.
- Stricter English language tests for skilled foreign workers seeking visas.
- Care homes are banned from hiring foreign staff; must recruit from existing UK-based foreign workers or British staff.
- Foreign nationals’ offences reported to the Home Office; may lead to deportation for lower-level crimes.
- Reintroduce graduate-level threshold for skilled foreign workers; critical sectors may still recruit lower-skilled workers.
- Foreign graduates must leave unless securing a graduate-level job based on skill, not salary.