Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to bring down net migration by the end of this parliament with a system that is “controlled, selective and fair”.

However the prime minister has refused to say how far he wants figures to fall, only saying numbers will come down “substantially”.

Politics latest: Starmer announces sweeping migration crackdown

Sir Keir was delivering a news conference after the government announced plans for new English language and British citizenship requirements in order to bring migration down, ahead of an Immigration White Paper to be published later this morning.

The prime minister said: “Some people think controlling immigration is reining in a sort of natural freedom, rather than the basic and reasonable responsibility of the government to make choices that work for a nation’s economy.

“And for years, this seems to have muddled our thinking. But let me be clear, it ends now. We will create a migration system that is controlled, selective, and fair.”

Asked if that means net migration will fall, he said it would “fall substantially by the end of this parliament” – but didn’t give a specific target.

Net migration – the difference between the number of people immigrating and emigrating to a country – soared when the UK left the EU in January 2020.

It reached 903,000 in the year to June 2023 before falling to 728,000 in mid-2024. But that is still well above its pre-Brexit high of 329,000 in the year up to June 2015.

The government is under pressure to tackle legal migration, as well as illegal immigration, amid Reform UK’s surge in the polls.

However Sir Keir insisted cutting migration is something he believes in, saying parts of our economy “seem almost addicted to importing cheap labour” rather than investing in skills at home.

He said: “On a day like today, people who like politics will try to make this all about politics, about this or that strategy targeting these voters, responding to that party.

“No, I’m doing this because it is right, because it is fair, and because this is what I believe in.”

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