The prime minister has announced a wide-ranging overhaul of the immigration system, as he accused the Conservatives of running “a one-nation experiment in open borders” following Brexit.
On Thursday, as revised figures showed net migration hit a record 906,000 in 2023, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told a Downing Street press conference that the government would publish plans imminently in the form of a white paper, to bring down the number of people entering the UK.
He blamed the previous government for the current situation, saying the quadrupling of net migration since 2019 had been a deliberate policy implemented by the Conservatives.
He said: “Failure on this scale isn’t just bad luck. It isn’t a global trend or taking your eye off the ball.
“No, this is a different order of failure. This happened by design, not accident.
“Policies were reformed deliberately to liberalise immigration. Brexit was used for that purpose, to turn Britain into a one-nation experiment in open borders.”
The press conference followed the publication of figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that showed the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country reached the higher-than-previously-thought peak in the 12 months to June last year, after being revised up 166,000 from the initial estimate of 740,000.
The cost of the UK’s asylum system has risen to £5 billion, the highest level of spending on record and up by more than a third in a year, according to separate Home Office data published at the same time.
‘We Got It Wrong’ Badenoch Says
In a speech on Wednesday, Badenoch said there had been a “collective failure of political leaders from all parties over decades” to tackle immigration, adding: “On behalf of the Conservative Party, it is right that I as the new leader accept responsibility and say truthfully, we got this wrong.“I more than understand the public anger on this issue. I share it.”
But Starmer said Badenoch had provided nothing more than a “chorus of excuses.”
He told reporters that Labour would reform the points-based immigration system to require companies employing foreign workers to also train British people, as well as crack down on abuse of the visa system.
Deal With Iraq on People Smuggling
Also on Thursday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a “landmark” deal with Iraq, intended to crack down on people smuggling and boost border security.The UK will provide up to £300,000 for Iraqi law enforcement training in border security, with money to tackle organised crime and a new irregular migration and border security taskforce.
Former home secretaries James Cleverly and Suella Braverman, who have both made bids to become Tory leader in the past, claimed credit for the numbers beginning to drop while they led the Home Office.
But shadow home secretary Chris Philp said net migration “remains far too high” and the UK needs stricter border controls.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the figures were “horrendous.”
Some 1.2 million people are estimated to have arrived in the UK in the year ending June 2024, while 479,000 are likely to have left.
This compares with 1.3 million who arrived in the UK in the year to June 2023 and 414,000 who left.
The drop in the overall level of net migration has been driven mainly by a fall in the number of dependents arriving in the UK on study visas from outside the EU.
ONS Director Mary Gregory said long-term international migration to the UK had been at “unprecedented levels” since 2021, with the conflict in Ukraine and the immigration system brought in after Brexit among the reasons behind this.
“While remaining high by historic standards, net migration is now beginning to fall and is provisionally down 20 percent in the 12 months to June 2024,” she said.
Over-Reliance on Foreign Workers
The Home Office said in a statement that it is in the process of restoring “order” to the “broken” immigration system by attempting to “end the over-reliance on international recruitment” and boost economic growth by upskilling the homegrown workforce.Cooper said: “Net migration is still four times higher than it was at the beginning of the last Parliament and we are clear that it needs to come down. That is why we are continuing with visa controls and setting out new plans to link them to the system for training and skills here in the UK to tackle the big increase in overseas recruitment over the last few years.
“Migration has always been an important part of UK history and our economy, but the system needs to be properly managed and controlled.”
The government confirmed this week that all eligible non-European visitors can now apply for an electronic travel authorisation and will need one to travel to the UK from Jan. 8, 2025, while eligible Europeans can apply for one from March 2025 to travel to the UK from April 2, 2025.
