WHAT STARMER’S ELECTION VICTORY MEANS FOR JAPA
WHAT STARMER’S ELECTION VICTORY MEANS FOR JAPA The United Kingdom has a new leader. After more than a decade of Conservative rule, Labour Party’s Keir Starmer has been named the new British prime minister following a landslide victory at the general elections on Friday. “The work for change begins immediately,” Starmer said in his first speech outside of 10 Downing Street. “We will rebuild Britain…Brick by brick we will rebuild the infrastructure of opportunity.” But Starmer’s vision for a new Britain poses implications for the country’s international appeal and raises eyebrows on Labour’s immigration policy plan, particularly among Nigerians, who make up a large percentage of its migrant population. Starmer’s net migration plan Since last year, the Labour party has made clear its intentions to slash net migration numbers and build the country from within. “The overall [immigration] level must be properly controlled and managed. So, Labour will reduce net migration,” Starmer stated. “We will reform the points-based immigration system so that it is fair and properly managed, with appropriate restrictions on visas, and by linking immigration and skills policy.” Though Labour has not set a specific target, it has said it will reduce net migration to “a couple of hundred thousand a year.” This comes after the Conservative Party under Rishi Sunak had tightened its visa restrictions to stop up to 300,000 people from coming to the UK yearly. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s most recent forecast from March 2024 suggests that net migration should settle at around 350,000 per year from 685,000 in the next five years. “We will end the long-term reliance on overseas workers in some parts of the economy by bringing in workforce and training plans for sectors,” said the prime minister, who plans to reform the apprenticeship levy to upskill resident workers in its construction, IT and engineering industry. “The days of a sector languishing endlessly on immigration shortage lists with no action to train up workers will come to an end.” Salaries, dependants and minimum income Last year, the UK raised tensions in the country and across the world after announcing unprecedented major changes to its migration policies, including increases in minimum income requirement for family visas from £18,600 to £29,000. Starmer said he will ask the Migration Advisory Committee to review the effectiveness of these policies in achieving its migration goals, but has asserted that he will retain the ban on care workers’ bringing dependants into the UK. In 2023, the UK, under Sunak, implemented increases to UK immigration fees by 35 percent to £490, and the Immigration Health Surcharge from £15 to £115. Starmer is yet to decide on these fees, but it is expected he will make one in line with his party’s migration goals. Implications for the UK If the Labour Party is to implement its proposed decisions on immigration, it will come at a cost. Notably, a high proportion of the UK’s net migration figure are international students, and Nigeria and India account for the most increases in student or sponsored study visas granted by the UK in the past five years, according to official immigration data. BusinessDay reported that the majority of the increase in main applicants between 2019 and 2023 were from India (an addition of 85,849) and Nigerian (35,366) nationals. The Migration Advisory Committee has observed that the tuition fees paid by these students subsidise that of domestic students and help to expand the range of courses offered while making up for financial losses on domestic students and research, increasingly participating as a short-term labour supply for UK businesses, both as students and graduate route participants. Since the ban on bringing families, the United Kingdom has already witnessed a decline in the number of international students, including Nigerians…
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