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 emphasised that “any employers who refuse to play ball [will] be banned from hiring overseas labour.” 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.

The points-based system on immigration, which applies to EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens, requires applicants to meet certain criteria in order to settle in the country. These criteria prioritise work skills over the country of settlement. For those outside these groups, the process is more challenging, with applicants needing to meet strict requirements and pass multiple checks.

The Conservative Party oversaw a significant increase in migration, despite repeated pledges to stop or decrease migration. On Wednesday, the current leader of the Conservative Party, Kim Badenoch, admitted in a press conference that the Conservative Party had “got immigration wrong,” and that current “immigration, whether legal or illegal, is too high.”