PM crackdown on immigration system in bid to cut numbers

What Happened 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised “migration numbers will fall” when he sets out plans to reform the UK’s immigration system later this morning. 

The PM is due to give a speech where he will say every area of the system “will be tightened up so we have more control.” 

Changes will include tightening English tests and cutting the recruitment of overseas care workers – something care home bosses have already described as ‘crushing’. 

The number of people coming into the country, minus the number leaving hit 728,000 in the year to June 2024. 

Perspective 

Opposition leaders are having their say, with the shadow home secretary Chris Philip telling Radio 4’s Today programme that the government’s plans won’t go far enough and that legal migration has been way too high in recent years. 

He says the high level of low-skill migration puts too much pressure on the country and the economy. 

On the plans to end visa routes for overseas care workers, he said it only “takes a matter of a few weeks” to train people in this role and it will help get British people back into work. 

The Conservative Party says the idea that the prime minister “is tough on immigration is a joke” and promises to push Parliament to introduce a cap on migration. 

The Liberal Democrats say the immigration system is in “tatters” and that it looks forward to scrutinising the government’s plans. 

What Next

Labour is attempting to overhaul a long-term problem which is “beyond unsustainable”, one senior government figure told me.

There are of course political reasons to get the net migration numbers down and they will be hoping they have found a way to do it that helps people feel better off, rather than having a negative economic impact. 

It will see the most highly skilled and high-earning immigrants able to secure permanent residence much quicker than others.

Ministers will be hoping some of the changes will move quickly – cutting the 50,000 lower-skilled and care workers coming into the UK pretty much immediately.

Other plans are expected to be set out in an immigration bill at the next King’s Speech.

The aim is that by the time the next general election rolls around – 2029 at the latest, the prime minister can point to a trend that bucks migration trends and give him, and Labour, the credibility they need. 

Media Reactions

The Guardian says the PM is toughening rules in what it calls a “challenge to Reform” which inflicted losses on Labour during England’s local elections. The paper states that adults such as spouses, siblings, parents and grown-up children who accompany foreign workers in the UK will be expected to pass an English language test. 

The i says migrants ‘must earn their right to stay and improve their English,’ as it quotes the prime minister who says new immigrants have to earn the “privilege, not right” to settle in the UK. The paper is amongst several suggesting the government’s move is to combat Reform UK – noting Labour has taken the “narrative” from the growing right-wing party. 

The Times reports migrants needing to “earn their right to remain” with those who pay their taxes on time, work in the public sector or have high-skilled jobs, or volunteer in the community being “prioritised for residency rights.” 

The Daily Express says “migrants must wait ten years to become British” under what it calls a “crackdown” – the paper explains that automatic settlement and citizenship for anyone living in the UK for five years will also end. The paper hears from the Conservatives who accuse the government of “pretending to be tough” on the issue. 

The Daily Mail reports on the Tory response saying the party have called Labour’s plans “laughable” for not including a cap on numbers and adding that critics “immediately questioned” how success would be measured.