SIR Keir Starmer has dismissed demands for an annual migration cap — despite net arrivals hitting almost a million last year.
But he pledged to slash the record-breaking influx by ending our “hopeless reliance” on foreign workers.
The PM promised a visa crackdown last night at a panicked press conference after net migration was revealed to have hit 906,000 in 2023.
He accused the previous Tory administration of “running an open borders experiment”, with the numbers quadrupling since 2019.
Declaring immigration “the issue” for voters, he blasted: “That’s unforgivable. And mark my words — this government will turn the page.”
Yet Sir Keir batted away calls for a fixed limit on arrivals, insisting an “arbitrary cap” would not work.
It risks leaving him outflanked by Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, who both back an upper limit.
Instead he promised reforms to visa routes in sectors hooked on overseas labour — forcing bosses to train Brits — and tightening “soft touch” employment laws.
Precise details were scant, with the PM pledging a full blueprint to cut numbers “imminently”.
The one-time Remainer also blamed the Conservatives for squandering the Brexit opportunity of reining in migration.
The hastily arranged speech came following a dramatic revision of last year’s net migration figures.
In May the Office for National Statistics (ONS) put the 2022-23 total at 740,000 — but yesterday admitted it had underestimated that by 166,000.
Meanwhile this year’s net migration figures, from June 2023 to June 2024, stand at 728,000.
In that time 1.2million people arrived in the UK — mainly via legal routes but also in small boats — and 479,000 left.
That 20 per cent fall in annual net migration was largely driven by measures imposed by the last Tory government.
They include a ban on care workers bringing family to the UK, and also a higher salary threshold for foreign employees.
The ONS said that although high by “historic standards”, net migration is “beginning to fall”.
But with numbers the size of a city like Liverpool, yesterday’s figures still sparked calls for action.
Nigel Farage said the levels of migration were “horrendous” and expressed fury at the “impact it’s had on people’s lives”.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Such high numbers place mounting pressure on housing and public services. We need immediate action.”
To curb small boat crossings, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper yesterday signed a deal with Iraq for its help in closing down people-smuggling routes.
Britain is giving the country nearly £1million, including £300,000 to train police to bust smuggling gangs, £200,000 to set up a border task force in its Kurdistan region, and £300,000 to tackle human trafficking and drug smuggling.
