Keir Starmer has accused the last Tory government of running a “one nation experiment in open borders” that sent immigration numbers soaring.
The prime minister made his comments after official figures revealed net migration – the difference between those leaving and entering the UK – soared above 900,000 in the year to June 2023.
Speaking at a press conference in 10 Downing Street, the PM said that had happened “by design not accident” under the Conservatives.
He said: “Time and again the Conservative Party promised they would get the numbers down. Time and again they failed, and now the chorus of excuses has begun.”
Starmer added: “A failure on this scale isn’t just bad luck, it isn’t a global trend or taking your eye off the ball. No, this is a different order of failure.
“This happened by design not accident. Policies were reformed deliberately to liberalise immigration. Brexit was used for that purpose to turn Britain into a one nation experiment in open borders.”
The prime minister said that Labour would get to grips with the problem and bring immigration numbers down.
He announced that the government had struck a deal with Iraq as part of his pledge to “smash the people smuggling gangs” sending asylum seekers across the Channel in small boats.
“The Home Secretary has been out in Iraq to seal this deal, and we’ve also announced funding for Iraqi law enforcement to tackle this problem upstream, way before it reaches our shores,” the PM said.
Starmer said a white paper would be published soon outlining how the government will cut immigration, which will include a crackdown on sectors which are “over-reliant” on foreign workers.
“For far too long, we’ve been casual about malpractice in our labour market, which sends a clear signal overseas that we’re a soft touch,” he said.
“Well, no more – our rules will be enforced. Any employers who refuse to play ball, they’ll be banned from hiring overseas labour.”
According to the Office for National Statistics, net migration hit 906,000 in the 12 months to June 2023, when Rishi Sunak was still prime minister.
That was an increase from 186,000 just four years previously, meaning it happened during Boris Johnson and Liz Truss’s time in office as well.
Starmer said: “This sort of increase is unprecedented. It is off the scale what has happened in four short years.
“The way to get it down is the hard graft, not the gimmicks but the hard graft of driving it down on the skills agenda, migration advisory committee, making sure we are cracking down on employers that are breaking the rules.”