Well, well, well. It was only a matter of time before Sir Keir Starmer’s attempt to reduce net migration was exposed as little more than whopping great fib. His tough rhetoric last week about “cracking down” on migration, claiming that “we’ve become an island of strangers,” offered only a fleeting sense of action – something many of us saw coming.
The prime minister’s much-hyped Brexit “reset” talks begin on Monday, and it’s looking like migration levels are about to go through the roof yet again. After saying he had “no plans for a youth mobility scheme” before the election, it now appears that’s exactly what we’re about to get. Shocking – Starmer breaking a promise? Who could’ve guessed? The EU has been pushing for this kind of scheme since Brexit, and it was rejected by the previous Tory government – likely one of their final gestures aimed at retaining anti-EU support before their electoral wipeout.
Now, during the summit in London on May 19, the UK is expected to bow to EU pressure and agree to a “reciprocal” youth mobility deal, allowing young people to move between the UK and EU countries for up to two years.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t about little 19-year-old Anabella heading off to Italy for a gap-year job between school and university. This is about issuing visas to potentially millions of people up to the age of 30.
And forgive me – I know 30 isn’t exactly old – but this scheme would let people enter the UK without a clear purpose or a defined quota. Does Britain really need thousands of uninspired 29-year-olds milling around with little to do?
Starmer told The Times this week: “If we get this stronger trading relationship with the EU then hopefully that will be measured in the pockets of working people. People will be better off.” Well, I’ll be first in line to find out exactly how we, the hardworking British taxpayers, are going to be “better off” from a scheme likely to increase net migration, putting even more pressure on our public services, housing, and the job market.
The prime minister has so far refused to say whether there will be a cap on the number of migrants – though, in fairness, that doesn’t mean there won’t be one. Still, given the backlash both he and the scheme have already received, you’d think he’d want to get ahead of the speculation.
Reform UK has slammed the proposal as a “backdoor for free movement,” a claim the prime minister strongly denies – not that this will stop people from remembering this is a cabinet that actively opposed Brexit. Even Kemi Badenoch has warned that this could amount to nothing more than an “uncapped migration scheme”.
Net migration reached a record 906,000 in 2023, before dropping slightly to 728,000 by June. In 2024, the year Labour took power, there were 162,000 grants of settlement – a 35% increase from the previous year. Citizenship grants also rose to 270,000, nearly a third more than in 2023.
And with small boat arrivals already hitting record highs this year, perhaps Sir Keir would do well to take a long, hard look at the numbers before making any final decisions on Monday – or ever.
