UK Politics

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will on Monday unveil plans to tighten immigration rules, confronting an issue that has bedeviled successive governments and fueled the rise of a new anti-immigrant party that could threaten the country’s political establishment.Starmer, whose center-left Labour Party won a landslide victory last July, is facing pressure from voters who are increasingly frustrated by high levels of immigration that many believe have strained public services and inflamed ethnic tensions in some parts of the country.Starmer is pledging to end what his office described as “Britain’s failed experiment in open borders,’’ less than two weeks after Reform UK rode the immigration issue to victories in local elections. Labour and the center-right Conservatives, long the dominant parties in British politics, both saw their support crater in the contests for local government councils and mayors.“Every area of the immigration system, including work, family and study, will be tightened up so we have more control. Enforcement will be tougher than ever and migration numbers will fall,’’ Starmer said in excerpts of a speech to be delivered on Monday. “We will create a system that is controlled, selective and fair.’’Immigration has been a potent issue in Britain since 2004, when the European Union expanded to Eastern Europe. While most EU countries restricted immigration from the new member states for a period of years, the U.K. immediately opened its labor market, attracting a flood of new arrivals.By 2010, then-Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to cut annual net immigration to less than 100,000, a target four Conservative governments failed to meet. In 2016, anger over the government’s inability to control immigration from the EU triggered a referendum in which Britain voted to leave the bloc.But Brexit did nothing to reduce the number of people entering the country on visas for work, education and family reunification.In recent years, concerns that the government has lost control of Britain’s borders have been fueled by the sight of thousands of migrants entering the U.K. illegally on leaky, inflatable boats operated by people smugglers. Some 37,000 people crossed the English Channel on small boats last year, down from 45,755 in 2022, government statistics show.Reform’s performance in the local elections was “because people are raging, furious, about the levels of both legal and illegal immigration,” Deputy Party Leader Richard Tice told Sky News.Annual net migration — the number of people entering the U.K. minus those who left — stood at 728,000 in the year to June 2024. While that figure was down 20% from the year to June 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics, it was still more than seven times the target set by the Conservatives in 2010.Starmer’s government doesn’t plan to set a new target, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who is in charge of immigration, said on Sunday.“We’re not going to take that really failed approach, because I think what we need to do is rebuild credibility and trust in the whole system,” she said in an interview with Sky News.Instead, she said, the government will focus on policies such as restricting visas for lower-skilled workers. The new rules will mean 50,000 fewer visas for these workers next year, Cooper said.Chris Philp, Cooper’s Conservative counterpart, said his party will support such proposals but they don’t go far enough.“Tomorrow we intend to push to a vote in Parliament a measure that would have an annual cap on migration voted for and set by Parliament to restore proper democratic accountability, because those numbers were far, far too high,” he said. More

Sir Keir Starmer has said those coming to the UK will have to “earn the right” to stay as Labour unveils sweeping reforms designed to slash net migration and tackle the threat posed by Nigel Farage and Reform.The prime minister said migrants must commit to integration and learning English, as part of a crackdown ministers say will boost economic growth. In what the Labour leader claimed would be a “clean break” from the past, the changes include a wait of 10 years, not five, to apply for permanent residency – unless they can prove a significant contribution – a ban on recruiting care workers from overseas and, for the first time, adult dependents will have to prove they understand basic English. No 10 said that as the number of migrants swelled to more than 900,000 a year in 2023 “public services were stretched, housing costs soared and employers swapped skills investment for cheap overseas labour”. Keir Starmer said the changes would represent ‘a clean break from the past’ More

The Foreign Secretary will host ministers for critical talks on how to deal with the “existential” threat Russia poses to security in Europe.David Lammy is expected to announce further sanctions targeting those supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid demands for Vladimir Putin to accept a 30-day ceasefire deal on Monday.He will meet with Foreign Ministers of the Weimar+ group including representatives from France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland and the EU at Lancaster House in a show of “unwavering support for Ukraine’s right to peace and freedom”. Mr Lammy said: “We are facing a once-in-a-generation moment for the collective security of our continent. The challenge we face today is not only about the future of Ukraine – it is existential for Europe as a whole. “I have brought our friends and partners to London to make clear that we must stand together, allied in our protection of sovereignty, of peace and of Ukraine. “A strong and secure Britain is a foundation of our Plan for Change. This cannot be achieved without standing up to Putin and strengthening our shared European security.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tour the streets of Kyiv, Ukraine, after they attended a meeting of the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ at the Presidential Palace (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

The public is deeply concerned about a “perfect storm” of assisted dying and benefit cuts, a new poll suggests. MPs will vote again later this week on plans to legalise assisted dying at the same time as ministers push ahead with plans to slash £5bn from the welfare bill.Half, 51 per cent, of those polled agreed they “would be worried about the timing” of such a law at the same time as benefit cuts.Actress Liz Carr holding a sign saying assist us to live not die’ (Jonathan Brady/PA)While most, 71 per cent, of the more than 2,000 adults polled supported the principle for terminally ill adults in pain, nearly six in 10 believed that no law can safeguard against rogue medics abusing the change for their “own gratification”.The survey was carried out by Whitestone Insight, a British Polling Council member, for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC). Michael Robinson, executive director of SPUC said: “This polling clearly shows the public has a much better understanding of the problems with changing the law than some proponents of the bill believe. Indeed, the public know that legalising assisted dying at the same time as slashing benefits, will create a perfect storm, putting pressure of vulnerable and disabled people to end their lives prematurely – and they don’t like it.” Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP behind the Assisted Dying Bill, defended the Bill on Sunday, insisting it was “about human beings”.Asked by Times Radio about an impact statement that suggested the proposal could save the NHS millions of pounds, she said: “I think if we distil this issue down to pounds and pence, we’re kind of missing the point. This is about human beings. And whilst it’s very important that the impact assessment is done, and we look into the practical implications of changing the law, what really matters is the human beings at the centre of it.”She added: “We need to be really clear what the problem is that we’re trying to fix. And it’s about giving dying people autonomy, dignity and control in their final few weeks and months.” Prime minsiter Sir Keir Starmer will miss this week’s debate on assisted dying, in a move that some have seen as the PM cooling on the proposals. MPs are expected to vote on a number of amendments to the Bill on Friday. More

The Speaker of the House of Commons has kept nearly 300 gifts, including skincare sets, presents for his pets and dozens of bottles of alcohol, over the last four years. The man charged with keeping MPs in line also held on todrinking glasses, cufflinks, chocolates and a rug. The details of the presents come at a tricky time for Lindsay Hoyle, as he comes under fire for his overseas trips amid allegations he spent more than £180,000 of taxpayers’ money on first-class and business-class flights with stays at five-star resorts. The issue of ‘freebies’ has also hit the headlines, with chancellor Rachel Reeves facing fire from MPs for receiving hospitality at the Sabrina Carpenter concert as she prepared to slash £5bn from the welfare bill.Last year, she and other ministers pledged they would not accept any more free clothes from donors after days of negative reports over “wardrobe-gate”. ( More

Just 21 companies have been prosecuted for not paying the minimum wage in 15 years, shock new figures show.Experts said the small numbers “emboldened” rogue employers who pay workers far less than they are due as ministers were warned to get a grip of the problem, amid claims it is hampering economic growth and increasing the burgeoning welfare bill. Between 2008 and 2023, only 21 employers were successfully prosecuted for underpaying the minimum wage, with an additional employer accepting a caution, according to official figures from the Department for Business and Trade. Ministers say criminal prosecution is reserved for the most serious cases, which involve deliberate underpayment or reckless pay practices. These are usually where there is a wider public interest, or where employers are persistently non-compliant or refuse to cooperate with HMRC, they say.Last year 524 businesses were “named and shamed” for failing to pay the minimum wage, leaving more than 172,000 workers out of pocket, and ordered to repay workers nearly £16m, plus an additional financial penalty. But Labour peer Lord Sikka, emeritus professor of accounting at the University of Essex, described those punishments as “puny” and called for more companies to be prosecuted. The figures on prosecutions were revealed by minister Baroness Jones of Whitchurch in response to a question from Lord Sikka. He told The Independent: “Our enforcement is incredibly weak.“I think this is part of the British disease, where the law is not really enforced, because they do not employ enough enforcers. It really then emboldens rogue employers because they can then game the system. And, every year, hundreds of thousands of workers are denied the minimum wage.” Lord Sikka called for more prosecutions and said the penalty for not paying the minimum wage “should at least equal the remuneration of the company board. The larger the company, the bigger the penalty”. He added that a failure to pay the minimum wage, brought in by the Labour prime minister Sir Tony Blair has an impact “at many levels of the economy. It could boost growth and reduce the welfare budget – if people are earning more, they have to claim less welfare.” More

UK care homes will no longer be allowed to recruit care workers from overseas as ministers scramble to slash net migration to “significantly” below half a million people a year. The crackdown is part of a swathe of measures in Labour’s long-awaited white paper on migration as ministers attempt to tackle the growing threat posed by Nigel Farage and Reform. Also included will be plans to deport more foreign criminals, tell employers they must train UK staff and requirements that skilled workers entering Britain have a degree. Home secretary Yvette Cooper, who is due to set out the sweeping changes on Monday, said that high levels of people coming into the country and a lack of training in the UK was creating “distortions” that were “undermining the economy”. Net migration reached 900,000 in 2023, although it fell to just over 700,000 a year later. Ms Cooper said the government’s reforms will not include a target number, but added that it had to fall “significantly” below 500,000. The crackdown on visas will increase fears that more care homes could face the threat of closure as Age UK warns that overseas workers are ‘keeping many services afloat’ More

David Lammy has ordered Foreign Office officials to ensure that tackling the migration crisis is on the agenda for every international summit and meeting, The Independent has learnt.It comes as the government prepares to unveil its long-awaited white paper on migration policy as Labour attempts to tackle the growing threat posed by Nigel Farage and Reform.Immigration, both legal and illegal, featured heavily in the recent local elections, where Reform won 10 councils, almost 700 seats and took Runcorn and Helsby off Labour in the by-election.Foreign secretary David Lammy has ordered officials put tackling the migration crisis on the agenda of every international summit and meeting More