UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged on Monday to “finally take back control” of Britain’s borders as his government unveiled policies aimed at reducing legal immigration and countering the rising support for the hard right.
Labour leader Starmer announced the end of an “experiment in open borders” that led to net migration soaring to nearly one million people under the previous Conservative government, which lost last year’s general election.
The government’s Immigration White Paper policy document includes plans to cut the number of overseas care workers and extend the period people must reside in the UK before qualifying for settlement and citizenship from five to ten years.
English language requirements will also be strengthened, with all adult dependents needing to demonstrate a basic understanding, and the length of time students can stay in the UK post-studies will be shortened.
Starmer stated that these policies would “finally take back control of our borders,” echoing the pro-Brexit slogan used during the height of the 2016 campaign to leave the European Union.
Labour had committed in its general election manifesto last year to significantly reduce net migration, which stood at 728,000 in the 12 months leading up to last June.
Net migration peaked at 906,000 in 2023, after averaging 200,000 for most of the 2010s.
Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who voted for the UK to remain in the EU, is facing renewed pressure to address immigration following the anti-immigration Reform party’s gains in recent local elections.
Arch-Eurosceptic Nigel Farage’s party won over 670 local council seats and secured its first two mayoral posts. It is also performing strongly in national polls, while Labour is struggling.
However, Starmer’s shift to the right on immigration risks alienating Labour’s large base of liberal supporters, with the Liberal Democrats and the Greens gaining votes on the left.
The premier acknowledged that migrants “make a massive contribution” to Britain but argued that the country risks becoming an “island of strangers” without stricter controls.
He added that he wanted net migration to have fallen “significantly” by the next election, likely in 2029, but declined to specify by how much.
‘Turn Page on Chaos’
Starmer faced criticism from Labour MP Nadia Whittome, who accused him on the BlueSky social media platform of mimicking “the scaremongering of the far-right.”
“Migrants are our neighbors, friends, and family,” she said, adding that the “anti-migrant rhetoric from the government is shameful and dangerous.”
The white paper also outlines new powers to deport foreigners who commit offenses in the country.
Currently, the government is only informed of foreign nationals who receive prison sentences.
Under the new arrangements, all foreign nationals convicted of offenses will be flagged to the government.
“Britain has been strengthened by people coming to start new businesses, study at universities, contribute to our cultural and sporting excellence and do some of the toughest jobs in our country,” Interior Minister Yvette Cooper told parliament.
“But to be successful and fair, our immigration must be properly controlled and managed,” she said, vowing to “bring net migration down and… turn the page on chaos.”
The paper also includes new visa controls requiring foreign skilled workers to hold a university degree to secure a job in the UK.
To reduce lower-skilled migration, Cooper stated she aims to cut 50,000 lower-skilled worker visas this year.
Regarding plans to double the time migrants must wait before applying for settlement or citizenship, Downing Street indicated that high-skilled individuals “who play by the rules and contribute to the economy” could be fast-tracked.
Care England, a charity representing the adult care sector, described the decision to close social care visas to new applications from abroad as a “crushing blow to an already fragile sector.”
“International recruitment wasn’t a silver bullet but it was a lifeline. Taking it away now, with no warning, no funding, and no alternative is not just short-sighted—it’s cruel,” said Chief Executive Martin Green.
Starmer is also under pressure to stop the flow of migrants crossing the Channel from France to England in small boats.
Over 36,800 people made the journey last year, according to British government figures, with several dozen deaths.
Separate legislation addressing irregular immigration, known as the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, is currently being considered by parliament.
