UK politics live: Starmer says Tories used Brexit to run ‘open borders experiment’ in migration speech
Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that net migration has fallen by 20 per cent this year, after reaching a record high of 906,000 in 2023
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Your support makes all the difference.Sir Keir Starmer has accused the Tories of a “different order of failure” on immigration and said the previous government ran a “one nation experiment in open borders”.
In a press conference in Downing Street this afternoon, the PM said: “Time and again the Conservative Party promised they would get the numbers down. Time and again they failed, and now the chorus of excuses has begun.”
He added: “A failure on this scale isn’t just bad luck, it isn’t a global trend or taking your eye off the ball, no this is a different order of failure.
“This happened by design not accident.
“Policies were reformed deliberately to liberalise immigration, Brexit was used for that purpose to turn Britain into a one nation experiment in open borders.”
Figures released earlier today by the Office for National Statistics showed that net migration has fallen by 20 per cent this year, after reaching a record high of more than 900,000 in 2023.
It fell to 728,000 in the year to June 2024. But this came after net migration figures for the year to June 2023 were revised upwards to 906,000 from the initial estimate of 740,000, the ONS said.
Farage says Reform UK MP who repeatedly kicked girlfriend deserves ‘Christian forgiveness’
Nigel Farage has said a Reform UK MP who was jailed for repeatedly kicking his girlfriend deserves “Christian forgiveness”.
The party leader said James McMurdock, who claimed after being elected that he had “pushed” a partner after a previous assault conviction was revealed, has “been forgiven”.
It emerged that Mr McMurdock was jailed 18 years ago for repeatedly kicking his girlfriend, after The Times applied to the courts for information from the official record of his sentencing.
He did not publicly disclose his conviction for assault before being elected and claimed he had “pushed” his partner when details were first revealed this summer.
Archie Mitchell reports
MP who repeatedly kicked girlfriend deserves ‘Christian forgiveness’, Farage says
Reform UK leader said James McMurdock’s conviction for an assault on a partner was ‘a long time ago’
Watch: Starmer says Tories used Brexit to run 'open borders experiment' in migration speech
PM will not place ‘arbitrary cap’ on net migration
The prime minister said he would not place an “arbitrary cap” on net migration, but insisted he wanted to drive the numbers down.
Asked by broadcasters if he would set a cap, as previous governments had done, Sir Keir Starmer said: “I want to see immigration come down significantly. I said that before the election, I said that during the election, I say it again here today.
“That means bearing down on the influences that have driven it up this high with the measures that I set out a moment ago. We had a supposed cap in place for the best part of a decade, and it didn’t have any meaningful impact on reducing immigration.
“So I don’t think setting an arbitrary cap, which is what previous governments have done, is the way forward. But do I want it to significantly reduce? Yes, I do, and that’s what our plan will achieve.”
Assisted dying vote is ‘free vote’ for all MPs - Starmer
The prime minister has said that Friday’s vote on assisted dying is a “genuinely free vote” for all MPs.
Asked whether his view on the matter had changed since it was last voted on, he told a Downing Street press conference: “The vote is coming up tomorrow, obviously the Government is neutral on this and it is a genuinely free vote for all members of parliament and I don’t want to put pressure on them.
“I’ve obviously got a huge amount of interest and experience in this having looked at every single case for five years that was ever investigated.”
He added: “I will therefore be casting my vote tomorrow.”
Government will reform points-based immigration system, says Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer said the government would reform the points-based system and crack down on abuse of visa routes.
He said: “We will publish a white paper imminently, which sets out a plan to reduce immigration.
“The migration advisory committee is already conducting a review and where we find clear evidence of sectors that are overreliant on immigration, we will reform the points-based system and make sure that applications for the relevant visa routes, whether it’s the skilled worker route or the shortage occupation list, will now come with new expectations on training people here in our country.
“We will also crack down on any abuse of the visa routes.
“For far too long, we’ve been casual about malpractice in our labour market, which sends a clear signal overseas that we’re a soft touch.
“Well, no more - our rules will be enforced.
“Any employers who refuse to play ball, they’ll be banned from hiring overseas labour.”
Brexit used to turn Britain into ‘one nation experiment’ - Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer has accused the last government of a “one nation experiment in open borders”.
In a press conference in Downing Street on Thursday, the Prime Minister accused the Conservatives of a “different order of failure” that happened “by design not accident”.
“Time and again the Conservative Party promised they would get the numbers down. Time and again they failed, and now the chorus of excuses has begun.”
He added: “A failure on this scale isn’t just bad luck, it isn’t a global trend or taking your eye off the ball, no this is a different order of failure.
“This happened by design not accident.
“Policies were reformed deliberately to liberalise immigration, Brexit was used for that purpose to turn Britain into a one nation experiment in open borders.”
Tories ran ‘open borders experiment’ - Starmer
The prime minister has accused the prime minister of running an ‘open borders experiment’.
He said: “As the ONS sets out, nearly 1 million people came to Britain in the year ending June 2023 that is four times the migration levels, compared with 2019.”
Keir Starmer’s press conference has started
The prime minister has started addressing today’s immigration figures.
BREAKING: Home secretary announces 'world-first' agreement between Iraq and UK to tackle people smuggling
Home secretary Yvette Cooper has announced a new security agreement with Iraq following a three-day visit to the country.
As part of her visit, Ms Cooper signed a joint statement on border security that pledged that the nations would work more closely on tackling people smuggling.
The UK is also providing up to £300,000 for Iraq law enforcement training in border security.
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