Sir Keir Starmer has accused the Conservatives of using Brexit to run a “one-nation experiment in open borders” after eyewatering migration figures revealed that more than 900,000 people entered the UK in 2023.
The prime minister described the figures as “shocking” and pledged that his government would bring the numbers down with “hard graft” and by taking a tough approach with businesses.
Sir Keir made clear his view that voters had been betrayed after they were persuaded to narrowly back Brexit in 2016 with a promise that it would bring down immigration. He accused the Tories of deliberately pursuing the opposite policy.
In a press conference in Downing Street yesterday, the prime minister said the Conservatives were responsible for a “different order of failure” that had happened “by design, not accident”. He highlighted how his government had inherited a crisis in Britain’s prisons and a £22bn black hole in the public finances, but said the migration figures were worse.
The figures came less than 24 hours after new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch admitted that Brexit had failed and that her party had failed the country on immigration.
Sir Keir said: “Time and again the Conservative Party promised they would get the numbers down. Time and again they failed, and now the chorus of excuses has begun.” He added: “A 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.”
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