LABOUR AND CONSERVATIVE PARTY IMMIGRATION PLANS: UK ELECTION 2024
This article contrasts the Conservative and Labour parties’ positions on immigration in the run-up to the UK ELECTION 2024. It will be updated throughout the election campaign to reflect changes made to the asylum system and immigration policies.
Comparing legal immigration policies: UK ELECTION 2024
1. Levels of net migration
The most widely used migration metric in UK political discourse is net migration. It is the total number of foreigners entering the UK less the total number of foreigners departing.
Net migration in 2023 was 685,000, significantly higher than the 200,000–300,000 range observed in the 2010s.
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party has said that there should be a decrease in the number of immigrants coming from outside because it is too high. But it hasn’t established a precise goal.
The Home Secretary, James Cleverly, outlined a number of steps intended to lower immigration levels in December 2023. Changes that are specific are considered with the appropriate policy area.
Labour Party
The Labour Party has not set a specific target for net migration level, but Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the party would introduce measures to reduce net migration. These changes are discussed within the relevant policy area.
2. Migration of work
In the UK, the most popular path for job migration is the skilled worker visa. Individuals using this visa to enter the UK need to be sponsored for employment that satisfies specific wage and skill standards.
A lower income criterion may be met for jobs added to the Immigration income List (formerly known as the Shortage Occupation List) in order for them to qualify for a visa.
Conservative Party
Following Brexit, the government first liberalised non-EU work migration; but, in early 2024, the liberalisations were partially undone. The minimum wage needed for a skilled worker visa went risen from £26,200 to £38,700 in April 2024, and carers are no longer allowed to bring their dependents into the UK as of March 2024. The pay threshold is not applicable to certain workers, such as carers and senior carers.
Furthermore, individuals who are travelling to the UK to work in jobs that are listed on the Immigration Salary List are required to pay £30,960 or the industry median wage for that particular occupation, whichever is higher.
Labour Party
Labour has stated that it will request that the Migration Advisory Committee examine the effects of increasing the income threshold for skilled workers to £38,700. However, the prohibition on the dependents of care workers will remain in place.
Labour announced in May 2023 that businesses would need to fulfil additional requirements, like proving they were making an effort to teach domestic workers, in order to obtain a sponsor licence.
In connection with this, the party will reconsider the decision to do away with the “resident labour market test,” which requires firms to demonstrate they have attempted to hire in the UK before recruiting from outside, according to Stephen Kinnock, the Shadow Immigration Minister, in November 2022. In June 2023, Kinnock announced that Labour will establish a connection between the Migration Advisory Committee and organisations that formulate industry and skills strategies.
3. Migration of students and the graduate route
The biggest group responsible for the increase in net migration since 2019 is the movement of foreign students and their families. An all-time high of 143,500 visas were granted to students with dependents in 2023.
Upon graduation, foreign students can apply for the Graduate Visa, a post-study work permit, which allows them to remain and work in the UK for a period of two years (or three years if they are a PhD graduate).
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party forbade the majority of students from entering the UK in January 2024 with their families.
In order to combat “rogue recruitment agents,” limit remote teaching, and potentially result in universities accepting foreign students losing their sponsor licences if their visa applications are denied by the Home Office, the Conservatives have put up further restrictions.
Labour Party
Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary, has stated that Labour will continue to prohibit students’ families from attending.
The Labour Party has refrained from making any public remarks regarding the Graduate Route review.
4. Family income cutoff
The minimal salary required of British nationals and immigrants granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK in order to bring spouses and children from abroad to reside with them. 2012 saw its initial release.
Conservative Party
In April 2024, the minimum income criterion was raised to £29,000 from £18,600. Out of the three suggested rises, this was the first. According to the Conservatives, the barrier will be raised until it reaches £38,700 at the beginning of 2025.
Labour Party
According to reports, a Labour Party spokesman stated that the party would urge the Migration Advisory Committee to review the rise in the minimum income criterion to £38,700 because it had “real concerns.”
5. Immigration charges
Generally, there are fees for immigrants seeking for UK visas. The primary expenses consist of fees for applying for a visa, fees for extending a visa while in the nation, the Immigration Health Surcharge, and fees for citizenship and settlement.
Conservative Party
The Home Office raised the costs for different immigration and nationality applications in October 2023. In February 2024, the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) was raised. According to the government, the higher rate of IHS would represent the projected average cost of providing NHS treatments to migrants who are subject to the surcharge, while the fee hike would indirectly help to support a pay increase for the police.
Labour Party
The Labour Party has refrained from making any public remarks against the hikes in immigration fees.
6. Youth Mobility Scheme visas
The UK has an arrangement with the Youth Mobility Visa Scheme (YMS) that grants non-renewable work visas to younger individuals, often those between the ages of 18 and 30. YMS holders are not restricted to any particular profession and do not require an employer to sponsor them. Every nationality has a maximum number of visas allowed.
The EU released a plan to negotiate a YMS with the UK in April 2024.
Conservative Party
The party “are not introducing an EU-wide youth mobility scheme,” according to a government official. Newspaper reports state that it has already made bilateral YMS arrangements available to several EU nations, including as Germany, Poland, and Spain.
Labour Party
In response to the EU’s proposals, a spokesman for the Labour Party stated that the organisation had “no plans for a youth mobility scheme” with the EU.
7. Abuse of Migrant Care Workers
Although the extent of migrant workers’ exploitation in the care industry cannot be measured, qualitative data indicates that it is a common problem.
The Migration Advisory Committee and ICIBI have identified several forms of exploitation that have been reported, such as bonded labour, unpaid hours, and modern slavery (i.e., being forced to work to pay off debts).
Conservative Party
In order to sponsor migrant care workers, care providers must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as of March 2024.
Labour Party
Labour has not made clear how it intends to handle the exploitation of migrant workers in the care industry.
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