It’s well-documented and widely accepted how much of a failure Brexit has been. Over the last year, even its most ardent supporters are unable to deny that it has had a disastrous impact on the UK.
From the billions lost in trade to the hellish border queues – for both people and vehicles – it’s almost impossible to find a positive impact of leaving the EU, and public opinion on Brexit has massively shifted.
And the day after Keir Starmer gave the sort of speech on immigration that you’d previously have expected from the Tories or even Reform, it’s important to remember that Brexit didn’t even curb immigration – one of the main things the likes of Nigel Farage promised it would do.
In fact, it caused it to rocket, and Labour’s measures won’t even get levels below where they were before Brexit.
As ITV News pointed out on Monday evening, net migration to the UK soared after Brexit was officially completed in January 2020.
Before Brexit, net migration to the country was around 200,000 a year, a figure that was still deemed controversial at the time.
But after Brexit, it soared to a peak of almost 1 million. In total, some 3.6 million immigrants have entered Britain since the freedom of movement laws were curtailed.
Sharing a clip of ITV’s broadcast on X, campaigner Peter Stefanovic suggested this figure was pointed out to Brexit’s biggest cheerleader Nigel Farage “in every interview.”
On Monday, Starmer became the latest prime minister to try and promise a reduction in immigration to the UK, as he unveiled Labour’s controversial plans to cut the number of people entering the country.
Professor Brian Bell, the chairman of the migration advisory committee, suggested the measures could reduce net migration to “under 300,000 and probably closer to 250,000 in the next few years”.
But, as the Telegraph reports, this will still be above the pre-Brexit total of 224,000 in 2019 when the likes of Boris Johnson and Farage promised severing ties with the EU would mean the UK ‘takes back control of our borders.’
The White Paper will include plans to ban recruitment of care workers from overseas, tighten access to skilled worker visas and raise the costs to employers in an effort to curb near record net migration.
However, many have criticised the government for the policies, accusing them of pandering to Reform and the right.
Related: Boris Johnson’s father urges Keir Starmer to help ‘undo the huge damage of Brexit’