By any metric the political hard-right in the UK can claim a certain degree of success over the past 10 years, firstly by forcing an EU membership referendum, then winning it – albeit, the Remain campaign lost it. Then by progressively positioning the centre ground of British (or rather English) politics to be determined by hard-right concerns, most notably around identity politics and immigration.

Keir Starmer’s most recent proposals are almost a carbon copy of Farage-esque policy proclamations: ‘taking back control of borders’ and claiming the UK risks “becoming an island of strangers without strong rules on immigration and integration” (BBC, 2025). Even by the standards of the conservative hard-right this is strong stuff and embarrassingly similar. Indeed, this overt and entirely unsubtle language certainly echoes political rhetoric of Enoch Powell in his infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech around immigration. Regardless if this is unintentional or not, the use of this language and the toxicity it stirs is alarming. Again, we are discussing a Labour Prime Minister with a huge Parliamentary majority here.

Keir Starmer recognises that migration is not something determined by government alone but by the demands of global market capitalism, accusing industry of being “almost addicted to importing cheap labour instead of investing in the skills of people here and want a good job in their community” (BBC, 2025). Unfortunately, this side-bar of justification is wishful thinking by Keir Starmer if he thinks that industry will suddenly have some sort of moral epiphany and start paying decent – or even living wages – to British workers without being compelled to do so. Immigration proposals based upon a large dose of hoping that industries will all of a sudden want to employ more expensive British workers is doomed to fail.

Starmer wants to have it both ways – to be viewed as tough on immigration, out flank Reform and guilt Industry to employ British workers. Unfortunately, this will only serve to further embolden the hard-right (particularly) under Reform to continue to make policy headway that Labour can’t help but follow under Keir Starmer. Even with a huge Westminster majority Labour are obsessed with apeing the conservative right which only further emboldens them, legitimises their concerns, fuels social division and further leads public discourse around things like immigration instead of addressing more pressing issues everyday issues such as huge socioeconomic inequality.

Of course, immigration is a topic to be discussed but the problem is that engaging in some sort of hardened right-wing virtue signalling makes the topic toxic. By making proposals that are almost carbon copies of the political hard-right also plays entirely to their strengths and positions any discussion on their terms, it also makes the Government look weak, scared and unimaginative. It also normalises anti-immigrant attitudes.

Stuart Cartland is an Associate Professor at the University of Sussex where he teaches in the School of Global Studies. He recently published a book entitled Constructing Realities: Identity, Discourse and Englishness.