25 h. ago The least ‘integrated’ part of British society isn’t the immigrants – it’s the elite | Andy Beckett

Politicians and the rightwing press talk about integration in a selective and politically loaded way. The reality is quite differentAmid all the acrimony surrounding Keir Starmer’s recent remarks on immigration – a row that could follow him into retirement and beyond – there has been one little-examined area of agreement between the prime minister and his critics. “When people come to our country,” Starmer said, “they should also commit to integration.” You may believe that integration is not best achieved by government decree, yet in conversations about what sort of society Britain should be, it has long been generally accepted that integration is a good thing – not just for immigrants but for everyone.Mixing, empathising and collaborating with people who aren’t like you has benefits, the argument goes, for individuals and the country as a whole. Perspectives are broadened. Inequalities are softened, at least a little. Lives are enriched, and feelings of loneliness and alienation a...

Events

47 h. ago Voices: Well done, Rishi – you handed Keir Starmer his immigration ‘win’ on a plate

By taking office just as net migration was passing its peak, the prime minister has been a lucky general, says John Rentoul – but there is more than meets the eye in new figures showing it has halved in a year

Politics

48 h. ago Warnings of dire worker shortages as UK net migration figures halve

Sir Keir Starmer announced plans he promised will ‘significantly’ reduce immigration this month but according to new figures the number was already dramatically falling because of measures introduced by the Tories

Events

68 h. ago Poll results: 'Keir Starmer is just copying Reform with his immigration crackdown'

Keir Starmer's tough new immigration crackdown has sparked fierce debate, with supporters praising his stance and critics accusing him of copying rival Reform. Here's what Mirror readers made of it all.

Politics

6 d. ago A Labour lost in the weeds can’t rebuild this country. Starmer must regain his nerve | John Harris

Labour has good ideas and years left to change Britain. Why is it acting as if its time is almost up? Just under a week on from Keir Starmer’s latest pronouncements about immigration, plenty of people on his own side are still gripped by a queasy sense of fury and disappointment, and it shows no signs of fading away. His aides and allies will now try to gladden left-liberal hearts by emphasising gains from Monday’s UK-EU summit, and the prime minister’s remodelling of Brexit. But the acrid cloud hanging over Starmer will surely remain, and with good reason.Whatever the surrounding context – and whether or not he was consciously echoing Enoch Powell – his suggestion that Britain risked becoming an “island of strangers” still sounded like a horribly calculated provocation. The insistence that the government was set on closing “a squalid chapter for our politics, our economy, and our country” was even more brazen. So was the suggestion after years of “a one-nation experiment in open bo...

Politics

7 d. 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

8 d. ago So ends the Keirbot’s immigration week: literally everyone hates it. Possibly even him | Marina Hyde

Several strongly worded X posts, a bungled Albanian scheme and the ghost of Enoch Powell. Once again, he’s smashed itOn Friday morning, Keir Starmer was posting without compromise. “If you’re one of the smugglers putting people in small boats across the channel,” ran the prime minister’s communique on X, “we’re coming after you.” Imagine the fear that would have struck into the hearts of all those people smugglers who follow his account.Alternatively, you could consider the above as a performance for the benefit of people other than those to whom it appears to be addressed – which would certainly make it of a piece with Starmer’s entire shtick for “immigration week”. Because that really has been quite a performance – and one the critics are already calling unconvincing, excruciating and wooden. On several occasions the prime minister was outperformed by his lectern.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Starmer scrambles to say he WILL lead Labour into next election after setting hares running by dodging questions

Keir Starmer risked setting hares running by dodging questions over his intentions for the prospective 2029 contest.

Politics

9 d. ago SNP accuses Keir Starmer of 'lying down' for Nigel Farage over immigration as Reform close in on Labour

The SNP government has hit out as Labour for pandering to Reform UK on immigration.

Politics

1 week ago Farage says Starmer ‘learning a great deal from Reform’ as PM defends immigration speech – UK politics live

Reform leader asks PM to declare a national emergency at the bordersHere is the list of MPs down to ask a question at PMQs, which starts at noon.In March Reform UK reported Rupert Lowe (at the time one of their five MPs) to the police, claiming he had threatened the party chair, Zia Yusuf, with violence. Reform UK announced the news shortly after Lowe gave a newspaper interview criticising Nigel Farage, the party leader,Following a thorough and detailed review of the evidence in relation to an allegation of threats, we have decided that no criminal charges should be brought against a sitting MP.Having considered a number of witness statements, we have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.If Farage were ever to control the vast power of the British state, I believe he would not hesitate to do to his adversaries what they have tried to do to me. With real power, I fear he would wield that immense responsibility to crush dissent - ...

Politics

1 week ago Anas Sarwar insists immigration must come down 'across the board' as he backs Keir Starmer's plans

The Scottish Labour leader said the UK needs a “well-managed” immigration system that controls the country’s borders.

Events

1 week ago PMQs live: Starmer defends immigration speech as Farage claims Labour ‘learning from Reform’

Reform leader asks PM to declare a national emergency at the bordersHere is the list of MPs down to ask a question at PMQs, which starts at noon.In March Reform UK reported Rupert Lowe (at the time one of their five MPs) to the police, claiming he had threatened the party chair, Zia Yusuf, with violence. Reform UK announced the news shortly after Lowe gave a newspaper interview criticising Nigel Farage, the party leader,Following a thorough and detailed review of the evidence in relation to an allegation of threats, we have decided that no criminal charges should be brought against a sitting MP.Having considered a number of witness statements, we have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.If Farage were ever to control the vast power of the British state, I believe he would not hesitate to do to his adversaries what they have tried to do to me. With real power, I fear he would wield that immense responsibility to crush dissent - ...

Politics

1 week ago Keir Starmer is caught in yet another trap of his own making | Rafael Behr

The prime minister’s immigration approach follows a now-familiar pattern: letting fear of a difficult argument get in the way of policy that might workKeir Starmer is embattled but not threatened. It is a strange combination. He is not challenged by Kemi Badenoch, who is weak in parliament and irrelevant outside it. Nor is the prime minister in immediate peril from Reform, the Liberal Democrats or the Greens. They pose electoral challenges in the coming years but they can’t stop the government passing laws in the meantime. The Labour leader is not in danger from backbench rebellion. Dissenting MPs grow in number but not at the rate that presages regicide.Starmer has been dealt a tough hand in some ways. He inherited a rotten economy in a volatile world. But he also has advantages not enjoyed by many of his predecessors: a vast Commons majority, an obedient cabinet, a splintered opposition. His greatest problem isn’t a politician or party. It isn’t an industrial lobby or foreign powe...

Events

1 week ago No 10 defends Starmer’s language on immigration likened to Enoch Powell speech

Downing Street says it is wrong to compare PM’s warning about ‘island of strangers’ to 1968 ‘rivers of blood’ speechDowning Street has robustly defended Keir Starmer’s language on immigration, which has been likened to that used by Enoch Powell, rejecting the direct comparison but saying the prime minister would not “shy away” from direct talk about the subject.A series of MPs criticised Starmer for his rhetoric when introducing a new policy paper on immigration on Monday, particularly his warning that the UK risked becoming “an island of strangers”, a near-direct echo of language used by Powell in his infamous 1968 “rivers of blood” speech. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week 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

1 week ago Starmer doubles down on ‘island of strangers’ immigration row amid growing Labour revolt

Downing Street has rejected comparisons to former rightwing Tory MP Enoch Powell and insisted the prime minister will ‘not shy away’ from the issue of immigration

Politics

1 week ago Former Scottish Labour MP accuses party of 'losing its soul' after Keir Starmer pledges immigration crack down

Business chiefs and trade unions have warned Scotland "desperately needs to retain and attract more working-age people".

Politics

1 week ago Keir Starmer hit by growing backlash for 'island of strangers' warning on immigration to Britain

London MPs have heavily criticised the Prime Minister over his language

Events

1 week ago Starmer faces Labour revolt over 'island of strangers' crackdown on immigration

Keir Starmer suggested uncontrolled immigration risked the UK becoming an 'island of strangers' as he unveiled proposals for curbing numbers yesterday.

Politics

1 week ago London MPs slam Keir Starmer for 'island of strangers' warning on immigration to Britain

The PM was hit with a growing backlash after unveiling immigration reforms

Events