Starmer’s shifts on immigration

Jon Danzig | 14 May 2025

When Keir Starmer ran for Labour leader in 2020, he promised to defend immigration and restore free movement with the EU.

He said:

“We have to make the case for the benefits of migration, the benefits of free movement.”

Many pro-EU Labour members backed him because of that pledge. But after winning, Starmer quietly dropped it.

By 2021, he told the BBC there was no argument for restoring free movement or reopening the Brexit deal. He now rules out rejoining the EU, the Single Market, or the customs union – despite polls showing most voters support closer ties with Europe.

In October 2024, Starmer rejected the EU’s proposed Youth Mobility Scheme, which would have allowed young people to live and work across borders again.

However, ahead of the upcoming UK-EU summit on 19 May, Labour ministers have indicated a possible shift. They now say they are open to a smart, controlled youth mobility scheme – provided it respects 𝗨𝗞 red lines, including no return to free movement.

In a speech on 12 May 2025 Starmer declared:

“Today, this Labour Government is shutting down the lab. The experiment is over. We will deliver what you have asked for – time and again – and we will take back control of our borders.”

He also warned that without new rules, we risk becoming:

“an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.”

That remark has drawn comparisons with Enoch Powell’s notorious “Rivers of Blood” speech.

Yet Starmer’s new stance is not backed by the facts.

Migrants are a boon, not a burden. They do the work many British citizens can’t or won’t do. They support our NHS, care homes, farms, construction sites, universities and high streets. And they pay in far more than they take out.

The Migration Advisory Committee has shown that immigration has only a minor impact on wages, if any – and mostly benefits the economy.

Britain already has control of its borders. There are no “open borders” – and there weren’t when we were in the EU. Free movement applied only to EU citizens and came with clear legal conditions.

For many who believed his earlier pledges, Starmer’s shift feels inconsistent – and deeply disappointing.

So much for “closer relations” with Europe under Labour. Starmer once backed free movement. Now he’s the one blocking it.

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Keir Starmer’s blatantly anti-immigration speech on Monday 12 May 2025 marked a dangerous shift.

Labour is now marching in step with the hard right – slashing migration, ending overseas care worker recruitment, and demanding university degrees for skilled workers.

But the truth is this: Britain needs migrants. Without them, our economy would grind to a halt.

We simply don’t have enough Britons to do all the jobs our country needs. That’s not an opinion – it’s a demographic fact.

The UK has an ageing population and falling birth rate. Every year, the number of working-age Britons shrinks.

Yes, 9 million people of working age aren’t in jobs – but most are students, carers, long-term sick, early retirees, or people in training. That’s not a lazy army waiting to fill 781,000 job vacancies – it’s a reflection of Britain’s deeper social and health challenges.

So what is Labour doing? Slamming the door on the very workers we rely on most.

Care homes are already struggling to survive. Starmer’s new ban on overseas care workers will collapse what’s left of the sector.

Then there’s construction. Labour wants to build 1.5 million homes – but is now blocking the very migrants who could build them. Bricklayers, carpenters and electricians don’t usually have university degrees. So, who does Labour think is going to do the work?

Starmer says British workers are being undercut. But where’s the evidence?

Migrant workers pay taxes, spend here, and plug vital gaps. If they all left tomorrow, the economy wouldn’t recover for years. In reality, public services are stretched because of underfunding – not immigration.

House prices are soaring because of a housing shortage – not migrants.

The real stretch is political – and Labour is stretching to sound like Nigel Farage.

Instead of fighting the toxic lies of the Reform Party, Starmer is echoing them.
Instead of defending the contribution of migrants, he’s scapegoating them. That’s not leadership. It’s capitulation.

This isn’t just about numbers – it’s about values, and common sense. We need a migration system that works for the economy – not a slogan to chase headlines.

When we had free movement with the EU, migrants mostly came to work – and stayed only if work was available. It worked.

Now, Britain is shutting itself off – again – from the talent, energy and workforce we desperately need.

It’s not bold. It’s not brave. It’s just wrong.