Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed Monday to “finally take back control” of Britain’s borders as his government unveiled policies designed to reduce immigration and fend off rising support for the hard right.
Labour leader Starmer announced he was ending an “experiment in open borders” that saw net migration rise to nearly one million people under the previous Conservative government, which lost last year’s election.
The government’s Immigration White Paper policy document was to be presented to parliament later on Monday.
Starmer said it would “finally take back control of our borders and close the book on a squalid chapter for our politics, our economy and our country”, recalling the pro-Brexit slogan at the height of the campaign to leave the European Union.
Labour vowed in its general election manifesto last year to significantly reduce net migration, which stood at 728,000 in the 12 months to last June.
He is under renewed pressure to tackle the issue following the anti-immigration Reform party’s win in recent local elections. They are riding high in the polls, as Labour struggles.
Starmer told reporters during a press conference in Downing Street that it was his “promise” that migration will fall.
Under the new plans, people will have to live in the UK for 10 years before qualifying for settlement and citizenship, up from five years currently.
English language rules will also be strengthened, with all adult dependents required to demonstrate a basic understanding.
“When people come to our country, they should also commit to integration and to learning our language,” Starmer said.
“Every area of the immigration system, including work, family and study, will be tightened up so we have more control,” he added, saying “enforcement will be tougher than ever”.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper, who will present the white paper to parliament, said Sunday the plans would include new powers to deport foreign criminals committing offences in the UK.
Currently, the government is only informed of foreign nationals who receive prison sentences. Deportation arrangements generally focus on those sentenced to more than a year in prison.
Under the new arrangements however, all foreign nationals convicted of offences will be flagged to the government, which will have wider removal powers, said the interior ministry.
“The system for returning foreign criminals has been far too weak for too long,” said Cooper. “We need much higher standards.”
This “radical package of reforms” would also target lower-skilled immigration, said Cooper.
It will include new visa controls “lifting the threshold for skilled worker visas to reduce lower skilled migration”, she wrote in the Sunday Telegraph. Foreign workers will be required to have a degree to secure a job in the UK.
Cooper also said she aimed to cut 50,000 lower-skilled worker visas this year.
High-skilled individuals “who play by the rules and contribute to the economy”, such as nurses, doctors, engineers and AI leaders, would be fast-tracked under the new plans, according to Downing Street.
“For years we have had a system that encourages businesses to bring in lower-paid workers, rather than invest in our young people,” Starmer will say.
The government is also under pressure to stop the flow of migrants crossing the Channel from France to England on flimsy rubber dinghies. More than 36,800 made the journey last year, according to British government figures.