Labour Suffers Defeat to Right-Wing Party in Recent Local Elections
UK Government Plans to Cut Immigration by 100,000 Each Year Until 2029
Starmer: "Taking Back Control of Our Borders"
The UK Labour government has announced a plan to reduce the number of immigrants by 100,000 each year until 2029. This measure comes as the Reform UK party, which has adopted an anti-immigration stance, continues to gain influence. According to Yonhap News on May 12 (local time), citing BBC, "UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced an immigration restriction policy that includes abolishing care worker visas and tightening requirements for skilled worker visas."
This policy contains comprehensive immigration restrictions. First, the residency period required to apply for permanent residency or citizenship will be extended from the current five years to ten years, and the issuance of new visas in the care sector will be halted. The qualification requirements for skilled worker visas will be raised to require at least a master's degree, and the fees that companies must pay to employ skilled workers will be increased by 32%. Currently, the fee for large companies in the first year of employment is 1,000 pounds (approximately 1.87 million KRW). In addition, international students who study at UK universities are currently allowed to work in the UK for two years after graduation, but this will be reduced to 18 months. The government is also considering introducing a new tax on universities' tuition income from international students, and the English language requirements for immigrants will also be strengthened.
Prime Minister Starmer stated, "We are finally taking back control of our borders," and added, "We are strengthening every aspect of the migration system, including employment, family, and study." He also said, "We want to have more control," and "The law will be enforced more strictly than ever, so the number of immigrants is expected to decrease." While he clarified that "no specific immigration reduction target has been set," local media such as the BBC reported, "The Home Office estimates that this policy could reduce the annual number of immigrants by 100,000 by 2029."
The 'taking back control of our borders' phrase mentioned by Starmer was the slogan of the pro-Brexit camp during the 2016 Brexit (UK's withdrawal from the European Union) referendum. At the time, the main issue in the Brexit referendum was to control the influx of immigrants. In fact, in the year following the Brexit decision, net migration into the UK was 230,000, a 30% decrease compared to the previous year (330,000).
However, the impact of Brexit did not last long. Net immigration reached a record high of 906,000 from July 2022 to June 2023. Although it decreased to 728,000 from July 2023 to June 2024, this is still much higher than in the 2010s.
Meanwhile, the right-wing Reform UK party won a landslide victory in the local elections on May 1 and is currently leading in approval ratings. Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, claimed in an interview with Sky News, "Today's announcement by the Prime Minister is a panic response to the impact the Reform Party had on Labour's votes in the local elections." On X (formerly Twitter), he strongly criticized, "Starmer is a hypocrite who believes in open borders," adding, "No one believes what he says."
There are also concerns within the Labour Party regarding this policy. A Labour MP representing a northern England constituency told Reuters, "If we respond strongly to (legal) immigration while failing to find a solution to the (illegal immigration) small boat problem, it will be a political mistake."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
