Keir Starmer has today committed himself to a points-based immigration system. In a speech to the Confederation of British Industry this morning, the leader of the UK’s largest opposition party said that he wants to keep the Conservative government’s system, while accusing British industry of “immigration dependency”.
So what is a points-based system, and why does Starmer want to adopt the immigration policy of a government he wants to replace?
British politicians have long promised a range of benefits that points-based systems would bring. They will, the public has been told, admit the ‘best and the brightest’. These systems will be flexible in changing economic conditions. They will be rational, transparent and efficient. And they will offer the holy grail of immigration management: control.
