LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that he would reduce the number of immigrants and make it more difficult for people to live in the U.K. He is dealing with a difficult issue that has caused problems for many governments and has helped a new anti-immigrant party grow, which could be a risk to the country's main political groups.

Starmer, the leader of the center-left Labour Party that won a big election last July, is under pressure from voters. Many voters are unhappy about the high number of immigrants, believing this has put a strain on public services and caused more ethnic problems in some areas.

Starmer said he would stop "Britain's failed experiment with open borders." This came soon after Reform UK, the far-right party led by Nigel Farage, won a lot in local elections. The two main parties in British politics for a long time, Labour and the centre-right Conservatives, both lost a lot of support in these local government and mayor elections.

Starmer said during a speech in Downing Street that they will make every part of the immigration system – for work, family, and study – stricter to have more control. He added that they will create a system that is controlled, selective, and fair.

Immigration has constituted a significant and contentious issue in Britain for many years, particularly following the expansion of the European Union to Eastern Europe in 2004. Whereas the majority of EU nations implemented temporary restrictions on immigration from these new member states, the United Kingdom promptly granted access to its labor market.

By 2010, the incumbent Prime Minister, David Cameron, committed to reducing annual net immigration below 100,000, a goal which four successive Conservative administrations were unable to achieve. In 2016, discontent regarding the government's perceived inability to manage immigration from the EU played a significant role in the UK's decision to withdraw from the bloc.

However, Brexit failed to diminish the influx of individuals entering the country under work, education, and family reunification visas. Net migration—the disparity between those arriving in and departing from the U.K.—surpassed 900,000 in the year ending June 2023, based on official data, representing nearly a fourfold increase compared to the pre-Brexit period. This substantial rise was partially attributable to hundreds of thousands of individuals seeking refuge from the conflict in Ukraine and China's suppression in Hong Kong. Net immigration subsequently decreased to 728,000 in the year concluding in June 2024.

Recent years have seen mounting concerns about the government's perceived loss of control over Britain's borders, a viewpoint exacerbated by the arrival of thousands of migrants in precarious inflatable vessels, often facilitated by criminal networks. Last year alone, approximately 37,000 individuals made this journey across the English Channel in small boats.

Starmer has pledged to reduce that figure by confronting the criminal human trafficking networks that orchestrate the voyages.

He has also pledged to substantially curb legal migration – without specifying a target figure – through measures such as curtailing visas for low-skilled employment, elevating salary thresholds for work-related visas, and augmenting English language proficiency requirements for migrants.

Starmer embraced the rhetoric of the pro-Brexit campaign he previously opposed, stating his government would "regain control" of Britain's borders.

He stated that past Conservative governments had allowed open borders across the country, even though people voted for more control. He added that this will not happen anymore.

Government proposals unveiled on Monday commit to a substantial reduction in visas for low-skilled occupations and the cessation of international recruitment for care facilities – vital yet typically poorly remunerated roles. The government asserted its intention to enhance employment terms to incentivize domestic workers to fill these positions, albeit without specifying the mechanisms for achieving this.

Martin Green, the chief executive of the sector's representative organisation, Care England, stated that employing individuals from abroad was "essential" for the industry's survival.

He said that taking it away now, without telling anyone, giving money, or offering another option, is not just a bad idea – it's cruel.

Claiming certain sectors of the British economy had grown excessively reliant on inexpensive immigrant labor, Starmer stated the government intended to increase investment in apprenticeships and skills development for British employees.

Under the revised regulations, the majority of immigrants will be required to reside in the U.K. for a decade, an increase from the current five years, to be eligible for citizenship, though reduced waiting periods will apply to those who make notable contributions and integrate effectively.

Starmer stated that "migration is a part of Britain's history," but without clear rules, "we might become an island of people who don't know each other, instead of a country that moves forward together."

Refugee groups and some Labour politicians were worried about what Starmer said. He claimed that a lot of migration had caused 'huge damage' to British society. Labour politician Sarah Owen wrote on the social media site Bluesky that 'following the ideas of the right could lead our country down a very bad path.'

Chris Philp, spokesperson for Conservative immigration policy, contends that Labour’s proposals lack sufficient scope.

He said the public correctly want mass immigration to stop, and he asked Parliament to set a required yearly limit on immigration.