Net migration in 2023 reached 906,000, it was revealed last week – but the PM has dismissed calls to enact a policy that could bring the numbers right down.
Sir Keir Starmer accused the previous government of running an ‘experiment in open borders’ (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed calls for an immigration cap, despite net migration hitting historic levels last year.
The Prime Minister addressed the media after it was revealed that the number of migrants arriving in Britain last year had been revised up to almost one million.
The official figure – 906,000 – is nearly double what it was in the year to December 2022, and more than five times the rate of the year to December 2011.
Confronting the startling new data in a press conference in No10, Sir Keir accused the previous Tory government of running “a one-nation experiment in open borders”.
So far this year more than 33k migrants have crossed the Channel (Image: Getty)
He told reporters: “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.”
Sir Keir Starmer said the previous government’s track record is ‘unforgivable’ (Image: Getty)
The 62-year-old conceded that the migration was “the issue” for voters, and took aim at the previous administration’s track record: “That’s unforgivable. And mark my words — this government will turn the page.”
However, the PM swatted aside demands for a hard limit on immigration, insisting that an “arbitrary cap” would not work.
But Sir Keir did promise to deliver a blueprint to slash migration “imminently”
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