Immigration Curbs Hit the Skids AGAIN as Cabinet Can't Stop Squabbling

By HOAR Team 8 April, 2025 4 mins read 90 Views

I'm so damn tired of this. Another day, another delay from the government that promised us they'd tackle immigration head-on. Remember last November? When Sir Keir stood there with that serious face promising his grand immigration plan was coming "imminently"? Yeah, well, "imminently" apparently means "whenever we feel like it" in politician-speak.

The whole thing's been kicked down the road until after May's local elections. Shocking, I know.

Listen Now

Why Can't These People Just Make a Decision?

So here's teh tea: net migration hit a staggering 906,000 in 2023. That's not a typo. Nearly a million people. My brother-in-law (staunch Tory) texted me about this last night: "Thought Labour were supposed to be different?" What am I supposed to say to that?

The real problem? Cooper and the Education Department are locked in some kind of weird power struggle. Cooper wants to make it tougher for international students to hang around after graduating unless they've got properly skilled jobs. Education folks are pushing back. Classic government turf war while nothing actually gets done.

The Trump Factor

Listen. There's another angle here that's not getting enough attention.

Word from inside Whitehall (my former colleague still works there, poor soul) is that ministers are nervous about piling more pressure on businesses while they're already dealing with Trump's tariff chaos. His response when I asked if that was just an excuse: "already updating my resume."

Absolutely Critical... But Not Critical Enough to Actually Do Something?

Downing Street is, of course, rejecting any suggestion that Sir Keir isn't taking this seriously. His spokesman called the work "critically important" yesterday. Hmm.

The same spokesman said: "It's absolutely critical that we reduce the sky high levels of migration, which quadrupled under the last government." Then added something about a "comprehensive plan to restore order to the system."

I spent $40 on drinks with a Home Office advisor back in 2023 who told me these exact same talking points were being workshopped even then. Nothing's changed.

Training Our Own (Eventually... Maybe)

One detail that did emerge: the plan will supposedly "link immigration, skills and visas." Translation: companies hiring from abroad will need to train up British workers too.

Great idea! Only about 15 years too late.

I remember covering a similar proposal back in 2018 that went absolutely nowhere. It's like watching the same movie on repeat, except the actors keep changing and the ticket gets more expensive.

God. Sometimes I wonder why I still write about politics.

The Waiting Game Continues

So we wait. Again. While ministers argue, advisors spin, and the numbers keep climbing.

And Sir Keir? He's probably hoping we'll all get distracted by something else before May. (Spoiler: we won't.)

What was that about being different from the last lot?

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