THE Tories used Brexit to turn the UK into a “one nation experiment in open borders”, the Prime Minister has warned.
Sir Keir Starmer used an emergency press conference to put the blame squarely on the Conservative Party for the new record-high net migration figures.
They showed the number of people entering the UK minus those leaving reached 906,000 in the year ending June 2023.
The PM promised a new white paper “imminently” to slash numbers, overhaul the Points-Based System, and stop sectors relying on cheap overseas workers.
He said: “Flure 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.”
Sir Keir went on: “We’re taking a different approach.
“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 over reliant 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.”
The PM also insisted his Government will “crack down on any abuse of the visa routes”, adding: “For far too long, we’ve been casual about malpractice in our labour market, which sends a clear signal overseas that we are a soft touch.
“Well, no more: our rules will be enforced. Any employers who refuse to play ball, they will be banned from hiring overseas labour.”
