UK politics live: Starmer vows to ‘take back control of borders’ as he unveils tighter immigration rules – UK Times

Sir Keir Starmer is talking at length about why he is making this announcement today cutting down on immigration.

He claims it is not to do about politics, but “because it is the right thing to do”.

The timing though makes this hard to believe. Not least the drubbing that Reform gave Labour in the local elections and Runcorn and Helsby by-election earlier this month.

The threat of Nigel Farage and his five point lead in the polls over Starmer hangs like a shadow over the theatre of today.

Keir Starmer strides up to the podium and vows to “take back control”.

He is deliberately using the words of Boris Johnson and the Brexiteers because, as he notes, they failed to “take back control of borders”.

He points out how under the Tory Brexiteers immigration in fact quadrupled instead of came down.

So it may be that the man who tried to overturn the referendum leave vote is actually delivering on the Brexit promise.

The PM has launched an attack on the previous Conservative government’s record on both migration and Brexit, saying they “conducted a one nation experiment in open borders conducted on a country that voted for control”.

“The experiment is over”, the prime minister warned, promising to deliver “what you ask for time and again”.

“We will take back control of our borders”, he said.

Sir Keir Starmer has begun his speech announcing the government crackdown on UK migration.

The prime minister is speaking at a press conference at Downing Street, in front of many cabinet members who have shown up in support.

We are expecting Sir Keir Starmer will begin a press conference at Downing Street shortly.

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke is at Downing Street, where members of the cabinet have also gathered in support of the prime minister.

We will be bringing you updates from Downing Street as they happen.

The Government’s plans to bring down immigration is “barmy” and will allow those who arrive in the UK illegally to become British citizens, the shadow crime and policing minister has said.

Matt Vickers told Times Radio: “Today the Government are allowing people who arrive illegally – they’re changing the law so that people arrive in this country illegally will be able to become British citizens.

“That’s an advert to the world, it’s saying ‘Come here, you could become a British citizen the way you couldn’t until this Bill goes through’.”

From Downing Street, The Independent’s Millie Cooke reports that most of the cabinet appears to be coming to Keir Starmer’s press conference.

She spotted health secretary Wes Streeting and education secretary Bridget Phillipson walking in.

Streeting in particular is going to have to deal with the impact of losing visas for workers in the social care sector.

The message on immigration is going to be a tough one and hit a lot of sectors.

But politically it is essential to regain the initiative from Nigel Farage and Reform.Starmer clearly wants a show of force to prove he is taking this issue seriously.

The prime minister said migrants must commit to integration and learning English, as part of a crackdown ministers say will boost economic growth.

In what the Labour leader claimed would be a “clean break” from the past, the changes include a wait of 10 years, not five, to apply for permanent residency – unless they can prove a significant contribution – a ban on recruiting care workers from overseas and, for the first time, adult dependents will have to prove they understand basic English.