Keir Starmer vows to ‘take back control of borders’ as he unveils tighter immigration rules: UK politics live

Asked whether going further on migration means disentangling ourselves from the ECHR, the prime minister issued a firm “no”.

The prime minister did not answer a question on whether net migration would fall every year between now and the next election but said he wants to “get it down by the end of this Parliament”.

Asked if net migration would fall every year, Sir Keir Starmer said: “I’m promising it (net migration) will fall significantly, and I do want to get it down by the end of this Parliament, significantly.

“That is what this plan is intended to achieve.

“This White Paper, these plans bring it back into control, make sure it’s controlled, that it’s selective, that we decide who comes to this country, and that it is fair, and that’s what we will do.

“Significant reduction in immigration and, as I’ve indicated, if it becomes necessary to take further measures, then that’s what we will do.”

Sir Keir Starmer let slip his reticence at having to deliver today’s migration announcement.

The PM, who was taking questions from the media in Downing Street, urged journalists not to ask two questions at once, adding: “We’ve got to just… get through this.”

The inadvertent remark drew laughs from the media – though not from the PM himself – as the comment indicated an acknowledgement from the PM that – no matter how hard he tries to mimic Reform’s rhetoric – migration will never be the most comfortable topic for Labour.

As he unveils the government’s latest immigration crackdown, the prime minister did take a moment to acknowledge the positive role of migrants in the UK.

“Migration is part of Britain’s national story,” he said.

“We talked last week about the great rebuilding of this country after the war. Migrants were part of that and they make a massive contribution today. And you will never hear me denigrate that.”

He added: “But when people come to our country, they should also commit to integration, to learning our language. And our system should actively distinguish between those that do and those that don’t. I think that’s fair.”

Sir Keir Starmer is talking at length about why he is making this announcement today cutting down on immigration.

He claims it is not to do about politics, but “because it is the right thing to do”.

The timing though makes this hard to believe. Not least the drubbing that Reform gave Labour in the local elections and Runcorn and Helsby by-election earlier this month.

The threat of Nigel Farage and his five point lead in the polls over Starmer hangs like a shadow over the theatre of today.

Keir Starmer strides up to the podium and vows to “take back control”.

He is deliberately using the words of Boris Johnson and the Brexiteers because, as he notes, they failed to “take back control of borders”.

He points out how under the Tory Brexiteers immigration in fact quadrupled instead of came down.

So it may be that the man who tried to overturn the referendum leave vote is actually delivering on the Brexit promise.

The PM has launched an attack on the previous Conservative government’s record on both migration and Brexit, saying they “conducted a one nation experiment in open borders conducted on a country that voted for control”.

“The experiment is over”, the prime minister warned, promising to deliver “what you ask for time and again”.

“We will take back control of our borders”, he said.

Sir Keir Starmer has begun his speech announcing the government crackdown on UK migration.

The prime minister is speaking at a press conference at Downing Street, in front of many cabinet members who have shown up in support.