In a week where the two main parties launched high-profile attempts to clamp down on migration, which party do you believe can be trusted to address the issue?
In years to come, the last week might look like a major milestone in the UK’s decades long struggle to control and manage immigration. It is also possible that Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to combat what he called “a squalid chapter for our politics,” will go down as just another feeble attempt by a UK Prime Minister to convince the public of acting without actually doing so.
Starmer’s speech on Monday, delivered as he set out the government’s white paper on immigration controls which they say will make it harder for people to legally settle in the UK marked a stark shift in approach from the Labour leader, who has previously spoken positively about the benefits on migration. In recently resurfaced clips his time as Leader of the Opposition, Starmer can be seen saying that the possibility of foreign nationals being allowed to vote “should be looked at”. So what do you think? Vote in our poll and join the debate in the comments section.
In another clip, Starmer said: “The Labour Party has been a bit scared of making the positive case for immigration for quite a number of years. I think we need to turn that around.”
It has led to calls of hypocrisy on the part of government, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch sharing the clips as she asked “can you trust this man?”
The Conservative party themselves have called for immigration rules to be toughened and introduced the ‘Deportation Bill’ to Parliament this week.
In it, they called for an annual cap on migration, an increase the salary threshold for work visas and the creation of powers to deport all foreign criminals.
Both Starmer’s speech and the Conservatives immigration bill come just a week after both parties suffered humiliating losses in the local elections at the expense of Reform UK.
Reform UK have seen a surge in popularity in recent years with their hardline approach to immigration being at the forefront of their public statements and policy ideas.
Leader Nigel Farage has consistently claimed that only his party has the will and appetite to address the country’s migration problem, with party Chief Whip Lee Anderson telling the Daily Express: “Their bogus strategy is a response to our growing success in the polls but it is doomed to fail.”
