Labour minister Stephen Kinnock has insisted the party's plans to crack down on migration have "absolutely nothing to do with any other party" as it is predicted that Reform UK will surge in Thursday's local elections.Reform UK is projected to secure hundreds of council seats, multiple mayoralties and could win the Runcorn & Helsby by-election.READ THE FULL STORY HERE
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00:00Can I ask you about your plans to bring down legal migration numbers?
00:05In the papers today, this is about closing this loophole.
00:08So foreign students coming here on visas who are then transferring to a healthcare visa
00:14and entering low-paid jobs in order to stay in the country.
00:18So is this going to be a real crackdown on legal migration?
00:22Or is this just, cynically, to do with what you're expecting to be a bruising in the local elections this week?
00:27Is this just trying to bid off the threat of Reform UK?
00:34We're absolutely committed to bringing migration numbers down.
00:38That was in our manifesto. So it's got absolutely nothing to do with any other party.
00:42It's fundamentally a Labour commitment to having a fair immigration system,
00:48but also one that works for our economy.
00:50And by the way, we've seen record numbers of deportations under Labour.
00:5424,000 people who shouldn't be here being deported since the 4th of July.
00:59A significant increase in the number of foreign national offenders being deported.
01:04So we recognise that we inherited a terrible mess in terms of our asylum and immigration system.
01:10Record numbers coming into our country.
01:12We're getting on top of that, but it's not going to be the work of 24 hours.
01:18But Stephen, what I don't understand is we're talking about people who should be here and people who are entitled to be here
01:25and people who you, the government, say, yeah, that's OK, you can come here and you can fill those jobs.
01:32And I don't think any of us have much of an issue with that.
01:35Absolutely. Look, you know, immigration has been a real benefit to our country in many, many ways in terms of our economy,
01:45our society, the diversity of our culture, the creativity of our country, our sporting achievements.
01:51You know, the list goes on.
01:53But it is absolutely clear that under the Conservatives, it just spiralled out of control.
01:59And Boris Johnson deliberately took measures to open the floodgates.
02:04And that's something that we're now having to clear up the mess.
02:08So you're absolutely right.
02:10It's about making sure that we have control over the system, control over our borders and a strategic plan for immigration that works for our economy.
02:18But you don't have control over our borders, do you?
02:21Because since January, we're expecting to pass this threshold today, 10,000 small boat arrivals since January.
02:30You have promised to smash the gangs.
02:32It's anything but.
02:36Well, it's absolutely right that we've got to get those numbers coming across on small boats down.
02:43The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are absolutely committed to doing that.
02:47We've set up the Border Control Agency.
02:50We are working to smash the gangs through work with our international partners.
02:57We've got to stop this problem at source.
02:59Also very encouraging to see or encouraging to see conversations moving forward in terms of our European partners and allies.
03:07But it is going to take some time because this situation was allowed to spiral out of control under the previous government.
03:15But the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister are straining every sinew to get on top of this issue.