Where does Keir Starmer stand on immigration, and why does it matter so much?

There is no doubt that immigration has been the main issue on everyone’s minds at least since Brexit. Even though Britain officially exited the EU in 2020, the debate has only intensified. This summer, tensions reached a boiling point, culminating in a wave of racially-motivated riots across England and Northern Ireland. Sir Keir Starmer is facing criticism from either side of the debate: he is accused of doing both too much and too little. I argue that there is no solution Starmer can offer to solve the ‘crisis’ – the position that he has established for himself has made it impossible for him to do so. In trying to pander to as many sides of the debate as possible, he has alienated many traditional Labour supporters and failed to win over new voters.

Starmer’s policy on immigration has been unclear by many standards. He recently laid out six milestones by which the electorate can judge his government in 2029 but did not specify how much he aims to reduce immigration. This, I argue, is a smart decision — various unforeseeable factors that can lead to an increase in immigration. However, it has also made Starmer’s government more vulnerable to criticism from those on the right, namely Reform UK. They claim he is too scared to set himself a target because he knows that he will fail to reach it.

Starmer called ex-PM Rishi Sunak ‘the most liberal prime minister we’ve ever had on immigration’

Interestingly, many forget that during his campaign for the general election, Starmer called ex-PM Rishi Sunak ‘the most liberal prime minister we’ve ever had on immigration’. When I came across this quote myself, I was shocked — how could someone hold this opinion of Rishi Sunak, who attempted to deport illegal immigrants and refugees to Rwanda as a solution to a rise in illegal immigration? Compare this to Starmer’s decision to change Sunak’s ‘stop the boats’ slogan to ‘smash the gangs’. This shift blames smuggling gangs for the rise in illegal immigration rather than asylum seekers, suggesting that Starmer wants to depart from the rhetoric spread by Reform UK and the Conservative party. Yet, this balancing act doesn’t seem to work in today’s increasingly polarised political climate.

Criticism of Starmer’s immigration policy doesn’t just come from Reform and Conservative Party supporters. The left also questions whether Starmer can address the root causes of harmful and racist attitudes towards immigration — especially those perpetuated by Reform UK. Reform’s divisive rhetoric has long stoked resentment toward immigrants, and Starmer’s efforts to prosecute this summer’s rioters falls short of addressing this deeper issue. What many, including myself, want to see is a challenge of Nigel Farage and Reform’s harmful messaging. Even back in 2014, Farage described mass immigration as making parts of the UK feel like ‘a foreign land’. A July 2024 poll by British Future showed that before the riots even took place, 51% of the British population believed that Reform risked bringing prejudice into immigration debates. Given this context, it seems the riots over summer were inevitable given the resentment towards immigrants that Reform and others on the right have stirred up for years, particularly during their election campaign.

This preconceived hostility toward Starmer has exacerbated his wavering stance on immigration

There also seems to be widespread impatience with Keir Starmer’s policy-making. Many are quick to forget the blunders of the previous Tory administration and prematurely call for another general election. For example, Michael Westwood’s petition, which has gained over three million signatures, argues that Labour has gone back on their promises and therefore deserve to face the judgement of the electorate again, less than six months after the July election. This demonstrates that a significant proportion of the British public are unwilling to hear what Labour has to say. Instead, this group will continue to make noise about the immigration ‘crisis’ until someone who listens to them gets into power. Nonetheless, Reform UK won only 4 seats in the last general election and Robert Jenrick also lost the Conservative Party leadership contest.

Starmer’s unpopularity, however, is not always based on poor policy. Many people formed their opinions on him long before his premiership began, and so far, he doesn’t seem to acknowledge this. This preconceived hostility toward Starmer has exacerbated his wavering stance on immigration. While it is unfair that he is held to a higher standard than his predecessors, he could recognise this scrutiny and use it to strengthen his policies. His approval rating, currently at 27%, would perhaps be higher.

Immigration is not a topic on which Labour can afford to waver. It has penetrated the British political discourse to such a high degree that it has become a marker of political success and failure. Brexit defined the legacy of David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Rishi Sunak will certainly be remembered for his failed Rwanda deportation plan. But Keir Starmer’s immigration policy is too middling for it to appease either side. If he picks a side and commits to it, I believe the conviction of his support would increase. But unless he wants to make his position clearer, many will continue to think of him as the Prime Minister who promised change and failed to deliver, no matter what his other achievements are.