Sir Keir Starmer has accused the Tories of using Brexit to deliberately run an “open borders experiment” in the UK.
The prime minister said the British people are “owed an explanation” after revised figures showed net migration reached a record high of almost one million under the previous government’s watch.
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Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows net migration for the year to June 2023 reached 906,000 – a big jump on what was previously thought and four times higher than pre-Brexit figures in 2019.
In a speech from Downing Street, Sir Keir said: “Failure on this scale isn’t just bad luck. It isn’t a global trend or taking your eye off the ball.
“No, this is a different order of failure. This happened by design, not accident.
“Policies were formed deliberately to liberalise immigration. Brexit was used for that purpose – to turn Britain into a one nation experiment in open borders.”
The ONS’s previous estimate for the year to 2023 was 740,000, which at the time was still a record amount.
The stats show net migration – the difference between people coming to live in and leaving the UK – is down 20% this year from the revised high of 2023, standing at an estimated 728,000.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch yesterday admitted her party, which made repeated pledges to cut net migration by tens of thousands during their 14 years in office, had got immigration “wrong”.
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