Sir Keir Starmer dealt fresh blow as Labour grandee blasts party over immigration – ‘Under threat!’
Sir Keir Starmer is facing more trouble from within his own party. Another senior Labour politician, Alan Johnson, has spoken out against Labour’s plans on immigration. Johnson, who used to be the Education Secretary, is worried that Labour’s approach could damage the UK’s top universities.
He agrees with what former Prime Minister Tony Blair said earlier that the party might be making poor decisions, especially when it comes to immigration and climate change.
Johnson explained in a BBC interview that universities in the UK are among the best in the world, but they are already under pressure for different reasons.
He warned that if Labour tries to reduce immigration by targeting international students or making it harder for them to stay, the country could end up damaging its own education system. He said it’s a huge risk and would be a big mistake to make universities suffer just to bring migration numbers down.
This criticism comes just as Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper are getting ready to release a major policy document in the coming weeks. This document, called a white paper, will lay out Labour’s plan for dealing with high migration numbers.
One of the things expected in the plan is a rule that could make it more difficult for students from other countries to stay in the UK after they finish their courses.
This is in response to the fact that net migration the difference between people coming into the UK and those leaving – reached a record high of 900,000 in 2023. Even though the number of international students coming in has slightly dropped since then, the government is still planning tougher rules.
Johnson’s comments followed Tony Blair’s recent remarks, where he also disagreed with Labour’s current direction. Blair said that people are being asked to make big financial sacrifices and lifestyle changes to fight climate change, but many feel their efforts make little difference on a global scale.
His think tank, the Tony Blair Institute, also said the debate around climate change has become confusing and unrealistic, and public support for climate goals is starting to weaken.
After those comments stirred debate, Blair clarified during a phone call that he wasn’t attacking Labour or Ed Miliband, the shadow minister in charge of climate policy. He said he still supports Labour’s plan for reaching net zero emissions.
Meanwhile, the current Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, responded to Blair’s statements by saying they were helpful. He defended the government’s climate strategy, especially the idea that the UK needs to produce more of its own energy.
Reed said that by using more wind, wave, solar, and nuclear power, the country can avoid relying on other nations and have better control over its energy supply. He believes this would make Britain stronger and more independent when it comes to energy.
