The UK’s Starmer promises to reduce immigration through points-based reforms

London – Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Thursday that he will reduce the number of migrants arriving in Britain, and said he will produce a reform plan for the immigration system that will put the burden on businesses to train British workers.

Hours after official data revealed that immigration has reached a record of more than 900,000 in the year until June 2023, much higher than the initial estimates, Starmer called a press conference to express his determination to reduce the numbers, blaming the policies of the previous Conservative government.

High levels of immigration have become a hot-button issue in Britain. Voters are worried that fragile public services cannot cope with the influx, and sectors such as health say they cannot function without foreign workers.

“Failure on this scale is not just bad luck… No, this is a different kind of failure… Brexit was used for that purpose to make Britain a ‘one nation experiment’ in open borders,” Starmer told a news conference, referring to Britain’s 2016 decision to leave the – European Union.

“When we find clear evidence of sectors that rely heavily on immigration, we will change the Points Based System and ensure that applications for suitable visa routes, whether it is a route for skilled workers or a list of jobs that are in short supply, we will now have new expectations for training people here in our country.”

If businesses “don’t play football”, he said, they will be prevented from hiring overseas workers.

Introduced in 2021 by the Conservatives following Brexit, the points-based immigration system awards points for specific skills and qualifications and only grants visas to those with sufficient points.

IT IS EXPANDING

Earlier on Thursday, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a total of 906,000 people migrating for the year to the end of June 2023, revised down from the previous estimate of 740,000.

Numbers fell by 20% to 728,000 in the year to the end of June 2024, the ONS said, driven by falling numbers of dependents arriving and those on study visas after the previous Conservative government changed the rules.

The big jump in the 2023 figure is due to more available data, more information on Ukrainian visas and improvements in how it estimates migration, the ONS said.

High levels of legal immigration in 2016 were one of the factors driving Britain’s vote to leave the EU.

While post-Brexit changes to visas have significantly reduced the number of European Union migrants to Britain, new work visa rules have led to an increase in people from India, Nigeria and Pakistan, often closing health and social gaps. – Reuters