Under pressure, Starmer pledges to cut immigration to UK

PRIME MINISTER KEIR Starmer promised on Monday to cut net migration to Britain significantly over the next four years, saying the country risked becoming "an island of strangers" if it could not maintain social cohesion.

- REUTERS

Controlling immigration was a key factor in Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union, yet net arrivals reached record levels after it left the bloc, helping to boost Nigel Farage's right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party.

In a sweeping set of immigration reforms, the government said it would increase English-speaking requirements for immigrants, make it harder for them to stay in the country, and prevent companies including care homes from recruiting abroad.

Automatic citizenship will only be granted to someone who has lived in Britain for 10 years, not five, and skilled worker visas will be restricted to graduate-level applicants.