UK prime minister promises to reduce migration through legal reform

London : Apna Punjab Media : British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised on Thursday to reduce the number of migrants entering the UK by overhauling the country’s points-based immigration system and by requiring businesses to train British workers. He made the announcement after the annual statistics on migration were published by the UK government, showing a fall in migration numbers since 2023. Starmer announced in a press interview on Thursday that the Labour Party “will reform the points-based [immigration] system and make sure that applications for the relevant visa routes, whether it’s the skilled worker route or the shortage occupation list, will now come with new expectations on training people here in our country.” Starmer also emphasized that “any employers who refuse to play ball [will] be banned from hiring overseas labor.” He announced that a white paper on the proposed legal reform could be expected soon. A white paper is a policy document produced by the British government that sets out its proposals for future legislation. Starmer also used the opportunity to criticize the Conservative Party, accusing them of driving the increase in immigration during their 14 years in power. Starmer said that the increased immigration in Britain was not a result of “bad luck,” a “global trend,” or “taking your eye off the ball,” but rather the outcome of deliberate policies designed to “liberalize immigration.” Starmer specifically pointed to Brexit–Britain’s exit from the EU in 2020, as an “open borders experiment” that contributed to the surge in immigration.