A former UKIP MEP has branded Labour’s plan to reduce immigration by boosting British workers’ skills as “a failure from the start”.
Speaking on GB News, Steven Woolfe, Director of the Centre for Migration & Economic Prosperity, criticised the Government’s approach to addressing the UK’s reliance on foreign workers.
The comments come as Labour faces scrutiny over its immigration strategy, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper recently travelling to Rome for talks with her Italian counterpart about tackling illegal migration.
Net migration hit a record 906,000 in the 12 months to June 2023, though figures show a 20 per cent drop to 728,000 in the following year.
Steven Woolfe spoke on GB News
PA / GB NEWS
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to reform the points-based immigration system, requiring companies employing foreign workers to also train British people.
The Labour leader has accused the previous Conservative government of turning Britain into a “one-nation experiment in open borders” and claims the UK economy is “hopelessly reliant on immigration”.
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Rachel Reeves GB NEWSHowever, Labour has refused to set specific targets for net migration, with Starmer stating that previous Tory targets during their 14 years in power had “achieved absolutely nothing”.
The party recently dropped Conservative plans to increase the minimum income threshold for foreign spouses from £29,000 to £38,700.
The Migration Advisory Committee has cautioned against viewing Labour’s skills-based approach as a guaranteed solution to reducing immigration numbers.
In its annual report, the committee warned: “Increasing the level of skills in the domestic labour pool does not guarantee a reduction in the reliance on the immigration system.”
Steven Woolfe joined Martin Daubney on GB News
GB NEWS
The report emphasised that migrant and domestic workers “are not perfect substitutes” and employers will still seek the best candidates, regardless of origin.
Committee chairman Professor Brian Bell urged the Government to avoid seeing immigration and skills policy as a “one-size-fits all approach” to bringing down net migration.
Woolfe specifically criticised Labour’s economic approach, stating on GB News: “British jobs for British workers with a fair pay.”
He argued that while Labour’s plans to increase the minimum wage for over-18s were “steps in the right direction”, the policy was undermined by Rachel Reeves’s “tax on jobs”.
“You cannot tax people out of existence which is what is happening under Rachel Reeves and have a policy that enables British workers with British jobs and a fair pay in those sectors which are over reliant on foreign workers,” Woolfe said.
He emphasised the need for “a more rounded, thoughtful process” to address sectors like care homes and hospitality.
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