In response to growing electoral pressure from Reform UK and off the back of less-than-impressive local election results, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to finally radically reform Britain’s immigration system — but was accused of parroting right-wing rhetoric in a desperate attempt to stave off the populists.
At a press conference on Monday, the Labour leader outlined the details of a white paper designed to reduce net migration by the end of this parliamentary term in 2029.
It is worth noting that practically every British government in power this century has made such a pledge, yet net migration continues to run at astronomical levels compared to those witnessed prior to Tony Blair’s arrival in Downing Street back in 1997.
Starmer slammed the previous Conservative administration for further opening Britain’s borders despite vowing to do the opposite.
“In 2023, [net migration] reached nearly 1 million, which is about the population of Birmingham, our second largest city. That’s not control – it’s chaos,” he said.
This is my promise to British people:
Every area of our immigration system will be tightened up, so we have more control.
And migration numbers will fall. pic.twitter.com/iw5CnjxDUG
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 13, 2025
Of course, net migration running at 1 million actually means the number of people coming to Britain every year is even higher — actual immigration into Britain exceeded 1.2 million in 2023, as cited by the House of Commons Library.
“Nations depend on rules – fair rules,” Starmer continued. “Sometimes they’re written down, often they’re not, but either way, they give shape to our values. They guide us towards our rights, of course, but also our responsibilities, the obligations we owe to one another. Now, in a diverse nation like ours, and I celebrate that, these rules become even more important. Without them, we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.”
The “island of strangers” line was picked up among both the right and left-wing press, striking a resemblance to a line once used by one Enoch Powell, a British nationalist and former Conservative government minister who was revered by many on the right (and berated by many on the left) for warning about the dire consequences mass immigration would bring to Britain.
Speaking about mass immigration in his famous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech in 1968, Powell said,
For reasons which they could not comprehend, and in pursuance of a decision by default, on which they were never consulted, they found themselves made strangers in their own country.
Naturally, left-wing commentators in Britain — many of whom joined the Labour party under far-left leader Jeremy Corbyn but who have now grown tired of what they call Starmer’s “Red Tory” policies — noted the similarities between Powell and Starmer’s language.
Corbyn’s former right-hand man, John McDonnell, led the charge in attacking the Labour prime minister for “reflecting the language” of Powell, while Labour backbench MP Olivia Blake claimed the use of such a phrase could “risk legitimizing the same far-right violence we saw in last year’s summer riots.”
Those “riots,” of course, were instigated by the brutal murder of several young girls who were stabbed to death by the son of Rwandan immigrants, Axel Rudakubana, while they attended a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, north-west England.
On Tuesday, Starmer’s official spokesperson “completely rejected” the comparison drawn in the speeches, insisting the prime minister “absolutely stands behind the argument he was making that migrants make a massive contribution to our country, but migration needs to be controlled.”
So, how exactly does Starmer plan to reform Britain’s immigration policy? Well, the white paper proposes raising skill and English language requirements, extending the timeline for settled status from five to ten years, and introducing stricter enforcement.
The goal, it says, is to prioritize migrants who contribute economically, reduce pressure on housing and public services, and ensure immigration serves the national interest. The system will link visa access to investment in British workers, making settlement a privilege earned through contribution.
The U.K. Home Office estimated the policies could lead to a 100,000 drop in net migration per year by 2029 — which frankly, is a drop in the ocean to what the British people expect when they talk about lowering immigration.
For reference, the former Conservative administration under David Cameron talked about decreasing net migration to the “tens of thousands” for over a decade, while the party’s time in government actually saw it rise to nearly 1 million.
The reality is that, even if Starmer was serious about measures to mildly reduce net migration, the figure would still be running at unsustainable levels and be wholly unacceptable to the vast majority of Brits who want genuine reform on the issue.
YouGov’s tracker poll on whether immigration into the U.K. has been good or bad for the country over the past decade — last updated in April — shows 47 percent believe it has been bad compared to 19 percent who think it has been good. That 47 percent is the highest ‘bad’ has been since the tracker started in 2019.
And this sentiment is what Reform UK is looking to exploit. The party’s populist leader, Nigel Farage, immediately dismissed Starmer’s speech as a token gesture that he not only cannot deliver, but deep down has no desire to deliver.
Taking to X, Farage posted a video of Starmer from his time in opposition, where he called upon Labour to make the case for the “benefits of migration and the benefits of free movement,” also known as open borders.
Starmer is a hypocrite who believes in open borders.
Here he is making the case for freedom of movement just a few years ago.
Nobody believes a word he says. pic.twitter.com/D2JBUxT740
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) May 12, 2025
The Reform UK leader called Starmer a “hypocrite,” and insisted his government would not do what it takes to control Britain’s borders.
“Only Reform UK will leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and deport illegal migrants,” Farage added.
In the minds of the British public, Farage’s party is best placed to tackle mass immigration, with 27 percent of respondents to a YouGov poll published yesterday backing Reform UK to handle the issue effectively — nearly three times more than the 10 percent that trusts Labour.
However, after years of mistruths and Brits witnessing the direct opposite of what they were promised by elected politicians on the matter, huge skepticism exists among the people — nearly half of all respondents believe that either no party can handle the issue well, or do not know who can do so.
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