Labour leader Starmer announces he was ending \u201cexperiment in open borders\u201d
\n LONDON
\nUK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed 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 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\u2018Turn page on chaos\u2019
\nBut he came under fire from a Labour MP, with Nadia Whittome accusing him in a post on the BlueSky social media platform of mimicking \u201cthe scaremongering of the far-right\u201d.
\n\u201cMigrants are our neighbours, friends and family,\u201d she said, adding the \u201canti-migrant rhetoric from the government is shameful and dangerous\u201d.
\nThe white paper also includes new powers to deport foreigners who commit offences in the country.
\nCurrently, the government is only informed of foreign nationals who receive prison sentences.
\nUnder the new arrangements all foreign nationals convicted of offences will be flagged to the government.
\n\u201cBritain 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,\u201d interior minister Yvette Cooper told parliament.
\n\u201cBut to be successful and fair, our immigration must be properly controlled and managed,\u201d she said, vowing to \u201cbring net migration down and … turn the page on chaos\u201d.
\nThe paper also includes new visa controls requiring foreign skilled workers to have a university degree to secure a job in the UK.
\nAnd to reduce lower skilled migration Cooper has said she aims to cut 50,000 lower-skilled worker visas this year.
\nOn the plans to double the length of time before migrants can make settlement or citizenship requests, high-skilled individuals \u201cwho play by the rules and contribute to the economy\u201d could be fast-tracked, according to Downing Street.
\nCare England, a charity representing the adult care sector, said the decision to close social care visas to new applications from abroad was a \u201ccrushing blow to an already fragile sector\u201d.
\n\u201cInternational recruitment wasn\u2019t 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 \u2014 it\u2019s cruel,\u201d said chief executive Martin Green.
\nStarmer is also under pressure to stop the flow of migrants crossing the Channel from France to England on flimsy rubber dinghies.
\nMore than 36,800 made the journey last year, according to British government figures, with several dozen dying.
\nSeparate legislation to tackle irregular immigration, called the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, is currently going through parliament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Labour leader Starmer announces he was ending \u201cexperiment in open borders\u201d LONDON UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478205,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-478193","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n