Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that a Labour government would move swiftly to reduce net immigration.
On Sunday, June 2, Cooper emphasized the necessity of reducing net immigration but avoided setting a definitive target, criticizing the Conservative Party’s past failures in doing so.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Keir Starmer made a direct appeal to Conservative voters with a manifesto promise to cut immigration levels and prevent employers who break the law from hiring foreign workers.
The Labour leader’s plan proposes new laws that would bar companies violating employment laws, such as failing to pay the minimum wage, from hiring overseas workers.
Additionally, the proposed legislation would require businesses seeking foreign worker visas to commit to training British citizens for those roles.
“We’re not setting a target and the reason for that is partly because, to be honest, every time the Conservatives have done this, frankly, they have just ended up being totally all over the place, ripping it up and discrediting the whole system.”
Yvette Cooper
She highlighted the variability in immigration figures, citing the pandemic’s impact and the increased numbers due to the “Homes for Ukraine” visa in response to the war in Ukraine.
Pressed by Trevor Phillips regarding the feasibility of UK residents filling thousands of vacancies in the adult social care sector, traditionally occupied by foreign workers, Cooper affirmed that there would still be a health and social care visa.
“Immigration has always been important to this country, including for international talent and different areas, but it needs to be properly controlled.”
Yvette Cooper
Home Secretary James Cleverly responded to Labour’s plans by criticizing Starmer’s stance.
“Keir Starmer has a track record of supporting high immigration levels and helping foreign criminals stay in Britain because he believes all immigration law is racist.
“This is yet another day where Starmer will say what he thinks people want to hear during an election because he lacks conviction to say what he believes.”
James Cleverly
Scotland’s Challenge Filling Vacancies
The Scottish National Party (SNP) also voiced criticism of Labour’s pledge to cut net migration.
At a campaign rally in Glasgow attended by over 200 activists and candidates, SNP leader John Swinney highlighted the challenges faced by Scottish businesses in filling vacancies.
Swinney argued, “The biggest economic threat to Scotland is the current hostility towards migration that we have from the UK.”
He received applause for stating that Starmer’s rhetoric was aimed at an audience that “did not exist in Scotland.”
The UK has experienced similar levels of immigration as other high-income countries over the past few decades, according to the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory.
The Observatory noted that net immigration was “unusually high” in the 12 months leading up to the end of June 2023.
On the issue of illegal immigration, Cooper indicated that Labour’s initial assessments suggest it would take a year to stop spending money on hotels for asylum seekers.
While Labour has committed to scrapping the government’s controversial Rwanda scheme, Cooper did not rule out the possibility of sending asylum seekers to another country for processing.
“Keir has always said we would look at what works and there are different kinds of … offshore processing arrangements and things that have already been used at different times in the past.”
Yvette Cooper
As such, as the debate over immigration continues, Labour’s cautious approach to setting specific targets contrasts sharply with the firm stances of both the Conservative and SNP leaders, reflecting broader tensions and differing priorities across the UK’s political terrain.
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