The United Kingdom would “finally take back control of Britain’s borders”, promised Prime Minister Keir Starmer May 12.
He did so announcing tougher immigration plans, making it harder for migrants to settle in the United Kingdom.
With host of new measures in a government white paper, Sir Keir vowed to cut levels of immigration “significantly” by the end of his first term.
Speaking at a press conference in Downing Street, he said he would fix a “broken” immigration system and end an era of “open borders”.
The new measures stipulated that legal migrants will be required to reside in the UK for ten years—double the present five—before becoming eligible to apply for citizenship. In addition, applicants would have to demonstrate proficiency in English.
The UK would also shift its immigration priorities toward highly-educated individuals, those with university degrees or skilled workers.
All foreign nationals convicted of criminal offences will be flagged to the government, which would receive expanded powers to remove them from the country. Until now, this was only the case for migrants receiving a prison sentence of more than one year.
Under the new measures, businesses such as care homes would be prohibited from hiring low-cost labour from overseas. The government pledged instead to invest in upskilling some of the nine million economically inactive British adults, to reduce dependency on foreign workers and strengthen the domestic workforce.
Starmer’s tough stance on migration came one week after a sweeping election win by Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform Party, advocating much stronger policies on migration.
In his speech, the British PM also attacked Conservatives, whose previous government promised “with a straight face” to take back control of migrant numbers, but saw them quadruple between 2019 and 2023 instead.
“Until in 2023, it reached nearly 1 million, which is about the population of Birmingham, our second largest city. That’s not control – it’s chaos,” said Sir Keir.
“I don’t think you can do something like that by accident. It was a choice. A choice made even as they told you, told the country, they were doing the opposite”, he said.
He called the UK’s migration policy “a one-nation experiment in open borders conducted on a country that voted for control.”
Starmer announced “the experiment is over” and his Labour government would “take back control of our borders”.
He said this was not about strategy or politics, but “I am doing this because it is right, because it is fair, and because it is what I believe in”.
“Nations depend on rules – fair rules. 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”, Starmer said.
“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.”
He said that the immigration system, as it is, seemed “almost designed to permit abuse”, encouraged businesses to “bring in lower-paid workers rather than invest in our young people” and was “sold on an entirely false premise”.
He said those behind this were “actually contributing to the forces that are slowly pulling our country apart”.
“So yes, I believe in this. I believe we need to reduce immigration significantly. That’s why some of the policies in this White Paper go back nearly three years. It’s about fairness.”
Starmer said migration was part of Britain’s national history, and supported it, but added that when people came to Britain, they should integrate and learn the language. He said the migration system “should actively distinguish between those that do and those that don’t”.
If you want to live in the UK, you should speak English. That’s common sense.
So we’re raising English language requirements across every main immigration route.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 12, 2025
Starmer concluded saying the British people wanted “an immigration system that is fair, that works for our national interest, and that restores common sense and control to our borders”.
He promised “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”.
The opposition parties were not impressed with Starmer’s plans.
Reform Party President Nigel Farage called Starmer “a hypocrite who believes in open borders”.
On X, he posted a video of Starmer speaking a few years ago, praising the benefits of freedom of movement.
Farage also showed a video of new arrivals on rubber boats and a clip of Starmer saying he refused to leave the European Court of Human Rights to more easily deport illegal migrants.
Whilst @Keir_Starmer was making promises he can’t keep in London, here were the scenes in Calais and Dover this morning. pic.twitter.com/7elJ0C2tDd
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) May 12, 2025
Likewise, the Conservative Party said, “Keir Starmer spent years advocating for immigration, open borders, and bringing more refugees to Britain.” They claimed only their party president would be able to fix the migration system.
“Yet again, you can’t trust a word Keir Starmer says”, the official Tory X-account added.
The party also posted a video of Nigel Farage saying he believed it was impossible to deport illegal migrants, saying they did believe it was possible.
The left-wing Scottish National Party (SNP) showed an old similar clip of Starmer praising migration and added, “When Labour claimed there would be ‘change’, it turns out it was their principles.”
John Swinney, the SNP leader, said, “The Prime Minister’s statement on immigration today will damage our economy, the NHS, social care and our universities. It ignores the need to boost Scotland’s working-age population. This sort of divisive language only plays into Nigel Farage’s hands.”
With our Plan for Change, we’re restoring common sense and control to our borders. pic.twitter.com/opSz3DPkRA
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 12, 2025
