Migration, migration, migration. Sir Keir Starmer didn’t express it like that in his Downing Street press conference, but he might as well have done. ‘Significantly’ reducing immigration, which is what he pledged in front of the cameras, can now be added to ‘smashing the gangs’ as clear priorities on which Labour will be judged over the next four years.
The Prime Minister was at pains to say that the focus on cutting immigration was not about ‘politics’, in other words, some kind of knee-jerk political response to events (local election losses) or the popularity of other parties (Reform). But the framing of the policies, the high-profile presentation of them and the drip feed of announcements over the past week signals the government’s desire to grab the narrative from its political rivals. ‘Taking back control’ of our borders is a Labour argument, said Starmer, in a naked attempt to wrest the slogan away from Brexiteers.
Current levels of immigration are unsustainable, socially and economically
Despite its political tint, however, Starmer’s approach has indisputable logic behind it.
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