UK ‘already an island of strangers’, Jenrick claims as PM faces backlash

The UK is “already an island of strangers”, senior Conservative Robert Jenrick has claimed, after Sir Keir Starmer faced backlash for his plans to cut net migration.

The plans, which are expected to reduce the number of people coming to the UK by up to 100,000 per year, include reforming work and study visas and requiring a higher level of English across all immigration routes.

Labour backbenchers were among those who attacked Sir Keir for the language he used to announce the plans on Monday, including his claim the UK risks becoming an “island of strangers” if ministers do not act on migration.

Asked what he made of the Prime Minister’s characterisation, shadow justice secretary Mr Jenrick told Times Radio: “I think it’s true. In fact, I think in some places we already are. Aggressive levels of mass migration have made us more divided.”

“Profound change”

Mr Jenrick, a former Home Office minister, pointed to large numbers of people who had migrated to towns such as Luton and Bradford.

He added: “People in many parts of our country are experiencing profound change as a result of the levels of migration that we’ve seen, and we’ve got to bring that back to the historic levels that we enjoyed as a country which enabled us to be a well-integrated and united country, rather than the one that we’re seeing today.”

Yvette Cooper defended the Prime Minister’s language, and signalled she did not agree with critics.

The Home Secretary told BBC Breakfast: “I think part of the point that he (Sir Keir) is making is that we have to recognise people have come to the UK through generations to do really important jobs in our NHS, founding our biggest businesses, doing some of the most difficult jobs, but it’s because that’s important, the system has to be controlled and managed, and it just hasn’t been.”

Ms Cooper had earlier refused to put a number on the amount she wanted to see net migration reduced because, she said, targets used by the Tories in government had been “meaningless”.

Criticism

In the Commons, the Prime Minister’s announcement drew criticism from across the political spectrum on Monday.

Labour backbenchers criticised the language Sir Keir used to announce the plans, particularly his claim that Britain could become an “island of strangers” without reform of the immigration system.

Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake suggested the phrase could “risk legitimising the same far-right violence we saw in last year’s summer riots”.

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who lost the Labour whip last year, accused Sir Keir of “reflecting the language” of Enoch Powell’s infamous “rivers of blood” speech in the 1960s.

Nigel Farage, whose Reform UK has focused heavily on immigration in its campaigns, said the Government “will not do what it takes to control our borders”.

The proposals also sparked concern from employers, particularly in the care sector, following the announcement that care worker visas would be scrapped.

GMB national officer Will Dalton said the decision would be “potentially catastrophic” as the care sector was “utterly reliant on migrant workers” and still had more than 130,000 vacancies across the country.

The Home Office believes there are 40,000 potential members of staff originally brought over by “rogue” providers who could work in the sector while UK staff are trained up.

CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith warned that labour shortages across different sectors “can’t be solved by training alone” in the context of a shrinking workforce and an ageing population.