Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised on Monday to cut net migration to Britain significantly over the next four years, saying the country risked becoming “an island of strangers” without tougher rules on immigration.
Controlling immigration was a key factor in Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union, yet net arrivals reached record levels after it left the bloc, helping to boost Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party.
In a sweeping set of immigration reforms, Starmer’s centre-left Labour government said it would increase English-speaking requirements for immigrants, make it harder for them to stay in the country, and prevent companies including care homes from recruiting abroad.
The automatic right to apply for citizenship will only be granted to someone who has lived in Britain for 10 years, not five, and skilled worker visas will be restricted to graduate-level applicants.
“Make no mistake, this plan means migration will fall. That is a promise,” Starmer told reporters in Downing Street. “If we do need to take further steps… then mark my words, we will.”
He also rejected suggestions from business leaders that the tighter immigration rules would harm Britain’s economy, saying growth had stagnated in recent years while immigration surged.
“The theory that higher migration numbers necessarily lead to higher growth has been tested in the last four years,” he said. “That link doesn’t hold on that evidence.”
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But he refused to set a target for net migration cuts, saying “arbitrary” pledges by previous governments had failed.
While the current plans have been in the works for months, government officials acknowledge they need to do more to address voters’ concerns about the high levels of immigration after Reform UK won the most seats in English local elections this month and opened a big lead in opinion polls.
‘PLAYING CATCH UP’
Farage accused Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, of “playing catch up” on the issue.
“Starmer is a hypocrite who believes in open borders… Nobody believes a word he says,” Farage said on X.
Immigration has long been a burning issue for British voters, with critics arguing that social cohesion can be damaged if the country does not build enough houses or expand public services to accommodate a larger population.
Reported by Reuters
