Keir Starmer gears up to fight Nigel Farage at election as he launches immigration crackdown
SIR Keir Starmer has said the Tories are a “busted flush” and the election will be him versus Nigel Farage – as he launches a major immigration crackdown.
On Monday the PM will announce a visa crackdown to wean Britain off foreign labour by saying migrants will need to have higher qualifications and better English to come here.
It comes after Reform UK wiped the floor with Labour and the Tories in the local elections – sparking calls from panicked Labour MPs for a reset in No10.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun on Sunday while on a trip to Kyiv, the PM said the next race for No10 is likely to be a dust-up between him and Nigel.
He said: “Certainly we were planning on the basis we were likely to be facing Reform at the next election in any event. So that coincides with our thinking.”
Tearing into Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, he went on: “I think the Tory Party is a busted flush.
“They haven’t learnt the lessons of the last general election. They have no idea where they are heading.
“And they have got a leader who is showing no leadership.
“But what I take out of those election results is that we need to deliver change.
“We have already delivered significant change with the NHS waiting lists coming down and wages going up quicker than prices, minimum wage is going up, interest rates are coming down.
“But we need to make sure people feel that change in their pockets and in their everyday lives. That is what I am intent on delivering.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will unveil Labour’s long-awaited plan to bring down record immigration tomorrow.
There will be strict time-limits and restrictions on recruitment for jobs with critical skills shortages.
And employers will also be told they must train workers in the UK.
Ministers want to drive down the reliance on foreign workers while getting soaring numbers of unemployed young Brits into jobs.
They are setting up groups with the Department for Work and Pensions to look at how this can be done.
Ministers want to drive down the reliance on foreign workers while getting soaring numbers of unemployed young Brits into jobs.
The Prime Minister added: “Sun readers know this country’s migration system is broken.
“A population the size of Birmingham arrived in just four years.
“No control, business hooked on cheap labour, and Brits’ wages undercut. This failed experiment stops. I’m shutting down the lab.
“By clamping down on abuse of the system, tightening time limits on visas, and boosting training for Brits we’ll make our borders secure, the system fair, and Brits better off. This is the change I was elected to deliver.”