Thank you.
When we came into office – we immediately conducted an audit of
public finances and we found a £22 billion black hole.
Now – the independent Office of National Statistics has conducted
vital work on the state of immigration and found the previous
Government were running an open borders experiment.
As the ONS sets out, nearly one million people came to Britain in
the year ending June 2023. That is four times the migration
levels compared with 2019.
Time and again – the Conservative Party promised they would get
those numbers down. Time and again – they failed.
And now the chorus of excuses has begun. We heard that from the
Leader of the Opposition, yesterday.
But what we didn't hear what the British people are owed is an
explanation.
Because a failure on this scale isn't just bad luck it isn't a
global trend or taking your eye off the ball.
No – this a different order of failure. This happened by design,
not accident.
Policies were reformed deliberately to liberalise immigration.
Brexit was used for that purpose to turn Britain into a
one-nation experiment in open borders.
Global Britain – remember that slogan. That is what they meant. A
policy with no support and which they then pretended wasn't
happening.
And now they want to wave it away with a simple “we got it
wrong”.
Well that's unforgivable. And mark my words - this Government
will turn the page.
That begins in the economy, because you cannot separate this
failure, from their refusal to do the hard yards on skills, on
welfare reform, on giving our young people opportunities, rather
than the easy answers of looking overseas.
Because clearly - the vast majority of people who entered this
country did so to plug gaps in our workforce.
Skills shortages across the country which have left our economy
hopelessly reliant on immigration, 2.8 million people out of work
on long-term sickness – a problem ignored, left to fester.
One in eight young people not in employment or education or
training.
Sectors of our economy, like engineering, where apprenticeships
have almost halved in the last decade, while visas have doubled.
So we are taking a different approach. We will publish a White
Paper imminently – which sets out a plan to reduce immigration.
The Migration Advisory Committee is already conducting a review
and where we find clear evidence of sectors that are over reliant
on immigration. We will reform the points-based system and make
sure that applications for the relevant visa routes, whether it's
the skilled worker route, or the shortage occupation list, will
now come with new expectations on training people here in our
country.
We will also crack down on any abuse of the visa routes. For far
too long, we've been casual about malpractice in our labour
market which sends a clear signal, overseas that we are soft
touch.
Well – no more. Our rules will be enforced, any employers who
refuse to play ball, they will be banned from hiring overseas
labour and I'm pleased to announce today: a new security
agreement between Iraq and the UK
This is a world-first, that will help us smash the people
smuggling gangs and secure our borders.
The Home Secretary has been out in Iraq to seal this deal and
we've also announced funding for Iraqi law enforcement to tackle
this problem up-stream way before it reaches our shores.
We're also tackling the utter mess we inherited in the Home
Office. Asylum returns - up 53% in the last 12 months compared
with the previous year. Total returns - up 34% in the last year
and we will keep on going because this is the work of change.
And alongside the NHS and the economy, securing our borders is
the issue that matters to working people.
You know, what people want from politics – is not unreasonable.
They want order and security, borders that we control, an NHS
that protects you, an economy that offers secure work and good
opportunities. Not just for a few at the top, but for everyone.
Let me say directly to people watching, where the last government
failed you – this one will not.
They drove immigration numbers up - we will get them down. They
left the NHS flat on its face – we will get it standing tall
again. They made you poorer - we will put more money in your
pocket.
It won't be quick or easy – but we are going to turn things
around, not with gimmicks, but with graft.
A government that will not rest, until the foundations are fixed,
borders are secure, and Britain is rebuilt.
Thank you.
