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The British government “will take back control” of the borders, PM Keir Starmer has said
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled plans to reduce immigration as sentiment in the country turns against the influx of foreigners.
The new measures, detailed in a government white paper published on Monday, include extending the residency requirement for citizenship from five to ten years, raising English language proficiency standards, lifting the skilled worker threshold, and ending overseas recruitment for social care roles.
“My government will take back control of our borders,” Starmer wrote on X.
The issue ranks as one of the top concerns for the British public, alongside the state of the national healthcare system (NHS), an Ipsos poll found earlier this year.
Immigration has surged since 2004, when the UK, then part of the EU, opened its labor market to arrivals from the bloc’s Eastern European members such as Poland.
In 2016, widespread frustration over the government’s inability to control the influx of migrants from the EU played a big role in Britain’s vote to leave the bloc.
Brexit, however, failed to solve the issue as net migration almost quadrupled between 2019 and 2023.
Critics have pointed out that Starmer, previously a staunch anti-Brexit advocate, has now adopted the language of the pro-Brexit campaign.
They argue that Labour’s tough new approach on immigration is an attempt to outflank the Reform UK party. Green Party co-chair Carla Denyer has accused Starmer of impersonating Reform leader Nigel Farage, adding this “won’t save him from wipeout at the hands” of the right-wing party.
Reform has surged in influence in recent years, capitalizing on anti-immigration sentiment and frustration over economic stagnation. It has also positioned itself as a challenger to the traditional two-party system.
In the 2024 general election, Reform secured five parliamentary seats and 14.3% of the national vote. In local elections earlier this month it won 677 council seats out of a total of 1,641, gained control of ten councils, and claimed two mayoralties.
Reform’s rise comes amid a wider rise of anti-immigration and Euro-sceptic sentiment in Europe. Right-wing parties are now part of governing coalitions in several EU countries, including Italy, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, and the Czech Republic.
