Nigel Farage has launched an attack on Sir Keir Starmer as he shared a historic clip of the Prime Minister calling for open borders. Posting a video on social media of Sir Keir’s leadership campaign speech four years ago, the Clacton MP says, “Nobody believes a word he says.” In the footage, the now-Prime Minister explains the benefits of migration, which contradicts his crackdown on the system today.

Writing on X, the Reform UK leader said: “Starmer is a hypocrite who believes in open borders. Here he is making the case for freedom of movement just a few years ago. Nobody believes a word he says.” Mr Farage’s post follows the Prime Minister’s speech this morning ahead of the Immigration White Paper publication. Sir Keir said that “living in this country is a privilege that must be earned”, with plans to overhaul the system to stop exploitation.

The new rules include changing the English language requirements for immigrants wishing to live and work in the UK, as well as doubling the length of time required to have lived in the UK before applying for citizenship.

However, during his bid to lead the Labour Party in 2020, the Prime Minister made a case for “the benefits of migration and for the benefits of free movement.”

A resurfaced clip from one of his campaign speeches shows him standing in front of a Labour-red sign reading “another future is possible”, while saying: “So we have to make the case, for the benefits of migration, the benefits of free movement.

“We have to make the case for freedom of movement, and we have to make it strongly.”

In contrast, Sir Keir said at a press conference this morning that the government is taking back “control” of the spiralling immigration figures. “Every area of the immigration system, including work, family and study, will be tightened,” he said.

Over the past two years, net migration hit record figures, standing at 906,000 in 2023. This dropped by just under 20% to 728,000 in June 2023.

There were also 162,000 grants of settlement in 2024, when Labour came to power, up 35% from 2023. In addition, there were 270,000 grants of citizenship in 2024, up nearly a third on the previous year.