US EditionPM rejects Enoch Powell comparison after 'island of strangers' comment
- On May 12, 2025, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer outlined plans to reduce UK immigration, warning the country risks becoming an 'island of strangers' without stricter controls.
- The statement prompted controversy and sparked debate among Labour Party members and others, who drew parallels to Enoch Powell's 1968 'Rivers of Blood' speech and questioned the tone and implications of the language employed.
- Starmer's proposals include scrapping care worker visas, raising English language requirements for migrants, and aiming to cut immigration by up to 100,000 people per year amid concerns over workforce shortages and system control.
- Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended Starmer's language, emphasizing migrants' vital contributions and rejecting parallels to Powell's speech, while critics warned of increased division and risks of legitimizing far-right rhetoric.
- The immigration plans and accompanying rhetoric sparked broad political debate about migration policy, integration, and social cohesion, with calls for focusing on policy substance rather than divisive language.
38 Articles
38 Articles
Starmer and the strangers
Starmer and the strangers melissa.ittoo Fri, 16/05/2025 - 11:02 British Future’s Sunder Katwala joins the podcast team to dig into the detail of the government’s new immigration policy. 1 Podcast Institute for Government No Policy making Civil service Public services Immigration Civil servants Civil service reform Welfare Labour Prime minister Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Home secretary Starmer government Number 10 Cabinet Office Home O…
Portrait of the week: Immigration pledges, trade agreements and a new pope
Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said, ‘We risk becoming an island of strangers’ as the government published a white paper, Restoring Control Over the Immigration System. He stood by his words but ‘completely rejected’ suggestions that they echoed Enoch Powell’s phrase ‘strangers in their own country’ from his 1968 speech. The white paper
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