Keir Starmer has faced staunch criticism from opposition parties for the Government’s latest white paper, which includes sweeping measures to reform the immigration system.
The Prime Minister took a tough stance when setting out his plans in a speech on Monday morning, claiming that the UK risks becoming “an island of strangers”.
He warned potential migrants that “settlement in this country is a privilege that must be earned, not a right” and that anyone hoping to live in the UK should “commit to integration and to learning our language.”
Starmer quickly faced claims that his hardline rhetoric was an attempt to appeal to Reform voters, after the party achieved a series of victories at the local elections earlier this month.
Green Party Co-leader Carla Denyer claimed the Prime Minister had used “divisive language lifted straight out of Reform’s playbook”, adding: “This is a panicked and misguided rush to create headlines and try to win back Reform voters.”
With Reform currently enjoying a 10-point lead over Labour in the polls, the party is in a prime position to exploit any holes in Starmer’s wide-ranging immigration reforms.
Reform party leader Nigel Farage reacts as the party wins the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. (Photo: Reuters)Even before the white paper was published, Labour was batting off criticism that its “landmark” immigration reforms did not include a cap on migrant numbers.
The Conservatives have particularly embraced this issue, with shadow home secretary Chris Philp telling the Daily Mail that the lack of a cap was “laughable.”
“Labour won’t set a migration target because they know they’d blow it,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by shadow home office minister Matt Vickers, who said that without a cap, there is “no line in the sand” and that parliament should be held to account for migration numbers.
The Tory party is attempting to introduce its own Deportation Bill in parliament, which includes an immigration cap among its measures, but the legislation is unlikely to succeed.
The lack of a cap could be a valuable tool for Reform, which has called for the far stricter measure of freezing all non-essential immigration, with limited exceptions for sectors with extreme shortages.
The party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, has already strongly stressed this point, telling Sky News on Sunday that “the way to get our economy growing is to freeze immigration”.
“Reform is leading in the polls because people want this issue sorted,” he said. “They want the boats to stop, and, frankly, I think the majority of this country agrees with our policy.”
Keir Starmer has faced staunch criticism from opposition parties for the Government’s latest white paper (Photo by Ian Vogler – WPA Pool/Getty Images)Nothing new on illegal migration
The plans in the Government’s white paper focus almost entirely on tackling rising levels of legal migration, with little time given to irregular migration and small boat crossings.
The Conservatives have jumped on this fact, with Philp claiming that “Starmer has no credibility on this issue”.
“This is the man who once described immigration laws as racist and wrote letters protesting at the deportation of foreign criminals,” he said.
Starmer came to power last July with a promise to tackle illegal immigration by “smashing the gangs”, but his critics have been quick to point out that the number of small boats crossing the Channel so far this year has already surpassed 10,000.
The Prime Minister dismissed such concerns in his speech on Monday morning, insisting that his approach to tackling Channel crossings was still in progress.
“I am convinced that the way to do that is to take down the gangs that are running the vile trade, and for that reason, we’ve drafted and put before parliament a Borders Bill, which follows through on the promises I made… to give law enforcement greater powers,” he told reporters.
But while Starmer asks for patience on this issue, Reform is making it a key priority.
The party recently returned over 600 councillors at the local elections earlier this month on a platform which included a pledge to close asylum seeker hotels in the councils they control. Many of those staying in such hotels will likely have arrived in the UK by irregular means.
On the morning the white paper was published, Reform announced that it was launching legal action against the Home Office to prevent asylum seekers from being housed in hotels.
No clear plan for the care sector
The Government announced ahead of the white paper’s launch that, as part of its immigration crackdown, it would close the care worker visa route for overseas recruitment.
This has already proved controversial with the social care sector. At the weekend, Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, accused the Government of “kicking us while we’re already down”.
“For years, the sector has been propping itself up with dwindling resources, rising costs, and mounting vacancies,” he said.
“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 shortsighted – it’s cruel.”
According to the white paper, the social care workforce is forecast to be cut by 7,000 a year as a result of the change, with care homes now required to fill these vacancies from within the UK.
Reform, which advocates for a freeze on all non-essential immigration, was accused on Monday morning of ignoring the concerns of the care sector with this pledge.
At first glance, this may appear to be an issue where Reform would struggle to gain the upper hand. However, Tice hit back against these claims, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “if you have net zero immigration, you can identify particular skill shortages” and adding that “the care sector may be possibly the most deserving.”
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