Restoring Control over the Immigration System
Restoring Control over the Immigration System is a 2025 white paper published by the Starmer ministry on 12 May 2025, outlining comprehensive reforms to UK immigration policy. The 80-page document represents the most sweeping changes to Britain's legal migration framework in over a decade,[according to whom?] aimed at significantly reducing net migration and creating what the government describes as a "controlled, selective and fair" immigration system.[1][non-primary source needed] The white paper introduces major policy changes across work, study, family and settlement routes, including doubling the qualifying period for citizenship from five to ten years, ending overseas recruitment for care workers, and raising skill requirements for skilled worker visas to graduate level. The reforms are designed to shift away from what Prime Minister Keir Starmer characterised as the previous Conservative government's "one-nation experiment in open borders", which saw net migration rise from 224,000 in 2019 to 906,000 in 2023.[2][3][non-primary source needed] The proposals have generated significant controversy, with Starmer's accompanying speech containing language critics compared to Enoch Powell's 1968 Rivers of Blood speech. Business groups, immigration lawyers and civil society organisations warned the changes could cost employers over £14,000 per sponsored worker and create severe labour shortages in key sectors. The white paper was widely viewed as a response to the rise of Reform UK, which won 30% of the vote in the May 2025 local elections on an anti-immigration platform.[4][5] ContentsForewordsThe white paper contained forewords by both the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, and the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper. In Starmer's foreword, he stated that net migration into the UK had "exploded" since 2019, blaming the previous Conservative government for the increase.[1] Starmer then stated that "the damage this has done to our country is incalculable" and that the increase had distorted the British economy, had led to a lack of investment in skills training for British workers, and had led to a lack of trust in British politics.[1] He then pledged to "go further and faster" and "restore control to our border".[1][non-primary source needed] In Cooper's foreword, she described the UK as "an interconnected and outward looking nation".[1] She stated that while immigration "will always be an important part of our country's future as well as our past", it had not been properly managed or controlled in recent years.[1] She pledged that the government was committed to reducing net migration as part of its Plan for Change, stating that "the rules were too often just ignored" by the previous Conservative government and that the immigration framework had become increasingly based on court decisions instead of parliamentary decisions.[1] She additionally stated that the government would introduce additional legislation later in the summer to reform the asylum framework. She concluded by describing the five basic principles underlying the white paper:
Policy changesThe white paper introduced a number of changes to the immigration policy of the United Kingdom, including:
"Island of strangers" speechKeir Starmer introduced the white paper with a speech given on 12 May 2025. In the speech Starmer pledged to "take back control of our borders and close the book on a squalid chapter for our politics, our economy, and our country".[2] He described the previous Conservative government's immigration policies as "chaos" and "a one-nation experiment in open borders", saying that net migration into the UK quadrupled between 2019 and 2023, despite Conservative pledges to reduce immigration.[2] Starmer then highlighted that he was moving to reduce immigration because he personally believed that it was the right thing to do and not because of party politics. He continued by stating that "nations depend on rules... Without them, we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together", saying that the UK's immigration system "seems almost designed to permit abuse" and was "contributing to the forces that are slowly pulling our country apart".[2] Starmer continued by saying that immigrants "make a massive contribution" to British society and that the UK "must compete for the best talent in the world".[2] He stated, however, that "parts of our economy seem almost addicted to importing cheap labour", saying that apprenticeship rates have declined while visas have increased and that colleges have dedicated themselves to international students instead of domestic students. Starmer stated that the white paper would increase restrictions on all aspects of immigration policy, listing some of the policy changes such as increased English-language requirements, increased time to reach settled status, and tougher border enforcement. He pledged that immigration rates would decrease as a result of the white paper and that the government would implement further restrictions if necessary, saying that the white paper would allow the UK to "choose who comes here so that migration works for our national interest".[2] He concluded the speech by stating that "the whole debate is skewed, as if some people think controlling immigration is reigning in [sic] a sort of natural freedom rather than a basic and reasonable responsibility of government", pledging a "clean break with the past".[2] He stated that he had the support of a majority of the British population in restricting immigration. Finally, he summarised the white paper as "lower net migration, higher skills, backing British workers, the start of repairing our social contract, which the chaos and cynicism of the last government did so much to undermine".[2] ReactionsThe speech was widely seen as a reaction to the results of the recent local elections, in which the right-wing and anti-immigration party Reform UK won 30% of the vote.[5] Political party responsesLabour PartyThe speech provoked divided reactions within Starmer's Labour Party.[7] The MP Nadia Whittome said that the speech "mimics the scaremongering of the far right,"[8] while the MP Sarah Owen argued that the government should focus on "investing in communities to thrive – not pitting people against each other".[9] Welsh Labour leader and Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan stated that she did not want to be "drawn into a debate where people are using divisive language when it comes to immigration."[10] Other Labour MPs who criticised the speech included Zarah Sultana, who questioned whether Starmer's speech had actually been written by far-right lawmaker Nigel Farage, and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who compared the "island of strangers" reference to "the divisive language of Enoch Powell".[11] The MP Joani Reid, on the other hand, stated that "we are not closing the door on immigration that can boost growth and strengthen the economy. But employers who hope to get away with paying low wages or avoid investment in staff training have had 'time' called today".[12] The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra, stated that Starmer's speech recognised "how much migration has been and remains a vital part of our identity," saying that unless immigration policy changed "we risk being communities that live side by side, rather than work and walk together."[13] The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, stated that Starmer was "right to say we need to change", adding that "I know that everybody always gets caught up in focusing on different phrases and so on, but we do have to be talking about the policies".[14] Conservative PartyShadow Home Secretary Chris Philp dismissed Starmer's stance, stating that "Starmer is the same man who wrote letters protesting against deporting dangerous foreign criminals and has overseen the worst ever start to a year for illegal immigrants crossing the channel." He called the idea that Starmer was tough on immigration "a joke" and labelled the failure to impose a cap on numbers "laughable".[15][16] Conservative critics more broadly argued that Starmer's measures did not go far enough, accusing Labour of adopting ideas they had championed whilst still lacking credible targets and enforcement. Some highlighted the fact that Labour had previously opposed similar restrictions.[17] Reform UKNigel Farage criticised the announcement, calling Starmer "a hypocrite who believes in open borders". Reform UK argued these reforms were merely a reaction to their own recent electoral gains and expressed doubt that the government would or could follow through with real results.[18] In Parliament, Farage told Starmer that Reform "very much enjoyed your speech on Monday, you seem to be learning a very great deal from us".[19] Business and industry responsesBusiness groups and immigration lawyers raised significant concerns about the economic impact of the proposed changes. Immigration law experts estimated that the proposed reforms could cost employers as much as £14,250 before an applicant could secure permanent residence – a 158% increase on current costs, excluding family members and legal advice fees.[4] Jonathan Beech, managing director of immigration law firm Migrate UK, argued that the reforms could "decimate" industries such as care and hospitality. He stated that "by closing the care worker visa to new overseas recruits, tens of thousands of care workers will be prevented from coming to the UK (based on current overseas hiring figures), which will have an immediate effect on employers trying to maintain sufficient staffing".[4] Emma Brooksbank, partner and immigration specialist at Freeths, described the changes as "a disaster for sectors such as care, construction and hospitality who already suffer from chronic labour shortages", adding that it "sends out the wrong message to our international partners, namely that the UK is closed for business". She warned that limiting the immigration system could result in "the closure of education providers, understaffed care homes, house building projects failing to get off the ground and restrictions on growth in key sectors such as AI and tech".[4] Ross Kennedy, senior client manager at Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law, warned that the changes would make "one of the world's most expensive immigration systems even more expensive for employers", noting that the Immigration Skills Charge alone would increase from £6,600 over five years to £13,200 over ten years.[4] Civil society and NGO responsesMigrant rights organisations strongly condemned both the language and policies outlined in the white paper. Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais, a charity that works with migrants and refugees, called Starmer's language "dangerous", stating that "shameful language like this will only inflame the fire of the far-right and risks further race riots that endanger survivors of horrors such as war, torture and modern slavery" and demanded that "Starmer must apologise".[11] Right to Remain, a migrant advocacy organisation, published a response rejecting Starmer's characterisation of Britain as potentially becoming an "island of strangers". They stated: "What we see is not an island of strangers: we are witnessing a growing community of radical solidarity that is choosing to manifest care, compassion and dignity. We wish Keir Starmer would come and join us." The organisation criticised the scapegoating of migrants, arguing that "successive governments' political decisions" were responsible for worsening the housing crisis and overstretching the public sector, not immigration.[20] Academic and policy analysisPolicy experts questioned the strategic approach underlying the white paper. The Institute for Government noted that despite the document showing recognition that migration is part of a wider policy landscape, "the document fails to set out how the government intends to manage and adjudicate the trade-offs inherent in migration policy". The think tank argued that "a better approach would be to adopt an annual migration plan to help set out a clear strategy, allowing ministers to weigh up the interests and evidence across government and identify and resolve the trade-offs between migration policy and wider government priorities".[21] Progressive Britain, a centre-left think tank, argued that much of the reaction focused on "ill-informed hot takes" about the "island of strangers" phrase whilst missing the substantive policy content. They defended Starmer's language, arguing that his underlying sentiment was "a social democratic one with the ties that bind our communities" and represented "a communitarian vision of Britain that works together".[22] International reactionsThe rhetoric used in Starmer's speech drew attention from international observers. Zoltan Kovacs, state secretary of Hungary's far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban, commented to The Independent: "We see Sir Keir Starmer saying the exact sentences and words actually we've been talking about for the past 10 years".[19] Enoch Powell comparisonsThe speech, in particular the phrase "island of strangers", was compared by several commentators to the right-wing politician Enoch Powell's 1968 Rivers of Blood speech, in which Powell stated that Britons risked becoming "strangers in their own country".[23] The Prime Minister's Office rejected comparisons to Powell and defended use of the phrase, saying that Starmer was "using his own words to rightly both recognise the contribution migrants have made over generations and to make the point that uncontrolled migration has been too high".[24] Starmer later said that using the phrase was a mistake, saying it "wasn't right. I'll give you the honest truth: I deeply regret using it".[25] See also
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