8 h. ago ‘Smash the gangs’: is Labour’s migration policy just a slogan?

The UK government is desperate to show it is preventing small boat crossings, but its PR-heavy approach may cause more problems with voters than it solves Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Smuggling teen's dicing with death as one found with 121 cocaine wraps hidden inside him

Video shows a door in Bradford getting battered down by cops who joined forces with another force to try to smash county lines drug dealing gangs who exploit young children

Events

3 w. ago DAVE BURKE: I spent a wild week with Keir Starmer as he got tough on immigration in Albania

On Monday Keir Starmer launched a five-day mission to hammer home the message that Labour is getting tough on migration with a new strategy and a high-profile trip to Albania

Politics

3 w. ago Readers Letters: Labour has fast lost any credibility it had after Starmer's migration speech

I cannot quite remember such a deep disillusionment with politics, in which the gulf is deepening between Scotland and the rest of the UK. Joyce McMillan (Perspective, May 16) is right to suggest that the time is fast approaching for a second independence referendum, perhaps before the end of the decade. We can’t wait for a generation to pass.

Politics

3 w. ago Labour's 'smash the gangs' pledge won't see Channel migrant crossings fall until next year

Officials are understood to be pessimistic about the prospect of making a significant impact on migrant crossing numbers this year, with measures not expected to start paying off until 2026.

Events

3 w. ago There’s only one problem with Labour’s immigration plans: they’re completely untethered from reality | Jonathan Portes

The government’s new policy will take us back to an uglier, more dangerous place – and it’s not even supported by the dataHow do you reduce immigration while at the same time boosting growth? Labour’s recent immigration white paper sets out a supposedly clear answer. Since the recent “surge” in immigration was driven by the system shifting away from “higher-skilled migration”, it has “distorted the labour market” and undermined the UK’s productivity and GDP.This argument, which has been made in increasingly shrill tones by the rightwing press and thinktanks over the past two years, was echoed by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, who tweeted that “the Tories ran an immigration system that relied on cheap foreign labour”. It sounds plausible. There’s just one problem. It doesn’t fit the facts, and the government knows it.Jonathan Portes is professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London and a former senior civil servant Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Tell us how you might be affected by Labour’s plans to reduce migration to the UK

We’d like to hear from workers and business owners on the effect the government’s immigration white paper might have on themThe government published its immigration white paper on Monday which aims to reduce the number of people arriving in the UK “significantly” by introducing restriction across all forms of visas.Changes include skilled work visa applicants requiring degree-level qualifications rather than those that are roughly equivalent to A-levels. Social care visas specifically will be affected as the government promises to end all overseas recruitment for social care work – though there will be a “transition period” until 2028. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Robert Jenrick claims UK ‘already island of strangers’ in rare support for Starmer

Sir Keir found himself in unusual political company as the former Tory immigration minister – who has typically been at loggerheads with the Labour leader on migration – defended the PM’s remarks

Politics

3 w. ago Tory MP Robert Jenrick backs Keir Starmer in ‘island of strangers’ row

Sir Keir found himself in unusual political company as the former Tory immigration minister – who has typically been at loggerheads with the Labour leader on migration – defended the PM’s remarks

Politics

3 w. ago UK faces legal challenge over asylum seekers’ deportations to Bulgaria

Deportees face inhumane treatment and torture, say lawyers contesting Labour’s migration policyThe UK government’s migration plans are facing an imminent challenge this week, with lawyers seeking to overturn deportations to Bulgaria due to allegations of brutal conditions faced by migrants and asylum seekers in the country.There have been more than 24,000 returns – both enforced and voluntary – from Britain since Labour’s election victory in July 2024, according to government figures. More than 200 people were returned to Bulgaria in 2024. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Keir Starmer unveils immigration crackdown as PM promises to tighten 'every area of system'

The Prime Minister is setting out Labour’s sweeping plan to cut net migration into the UK at a press conference on Monday morning

Politics

4 w. ago UK care homes to be banned from overseas recruitment in bid to slash migration to ‘significantly’ below 500,000

Home secretary Yvette Cooper to set out sweeping measures as Labour attempts to deal with growing threat from Nigel Farage and his Reform party

Events

4 w. ago UK care homes face ban on recruiting from overseas in bid to slash migration to ‘significantly’ below 500,000

Home secretary Yvette Cooper to set out sweeping measures as Labour attempts to deal with growing threat from Nigel Farage and his Reform party

Politics

4 w. ago Lammy and Cooper lead Labour fightback against Farage with new migration strategy

Exclusive: Foreign secretary David Lammy has revealed to The Independent his new push with international partners to tackle illegal migration as Yvette Cooper prepares to unveil her white paper on legal migration. Both come in the wake of a surge in popular support for Nigel Farage and Reform

Politics