London
\nUK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Monday to \u201cfinally take back control\u201d of Britain\u2019s borders as his government unveiled policies designed to reduce legal immigration and fend off rising support for the hard right.
\nLabour leader Starmer announced he was ending an \u201cexperiment in open borders\u201d that saw net migration rise to nearly one million people under the previous Conservative government, which lost last year\u2019s general election.
\nThe government\u2019s Immigration White Paper policy document includes plans to cut overseas [care workers][2] and increase from five to 10 years the length of time people will have to live in UK before qualifying for settlement and citizenship.
\nEnglish language rules will also be strengthened, with all adult dependents required to demonstrate a basic understanding, while the length of time students can stay in the UK after completing their studies will be reduced.
\nStarmer said the policies would \u201cfinally take back control of our borders\u201d, recalling the pro-Brexit slogan used at the height of the campaign to leave the European Union in 2016.
\nLabour 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.
\nIt had peaked at 906,000 in 2023 after averaging 200,000 for most of the 2010s.
\nStarmer, a former human rights lawyer who voted for the UK to remain part of the EU, is under renewed pressure to tackle immigration following the anti-immigration Reform party\u2019s gains in recent local elections.
\nArch-Eurosceptic Nigel Farage\u2019s party won more than 670 local council seats as well as its first two mayoral posts. It is also riding high in national polls, while Labour is struggling.
\nHowever, Starmer\u2019s tack to the right on immigration risks alienating Labour\u2019s large base of liberal supporters, with the Liberal Democrats and the Greens picking up votes on the left.
\nThe premier said that migrants \u201cmake a massive contribution\u201d to Britain but alleged the country risks becoming an \u201cisland of strangers\u201d without more controls.
\nHe added that he wanted net migration to have fallen \u201csignificantly\u201d by the next election, likely in 2029, but refused say by how much.
\n\u201cEvery area of the immigration system, including work, family and study, will be tightened up so we have more control,\u201d he told reporters at a Downing Street press conference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
London UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Monday to \u201cfinally take back control\u201d of Britain\u2019s borders as his government unveiled policies designed to reduce legal immigration and fend off rising support for the hard right. Labour leader Starmer announced he was ending an \u201cexperiment in open borders\u201d that saw net migration rise to nearly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-478011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n