Labour knows that we all want strong borders and a fair deal. That is why we are continuing to deliver the biggest changes to our immigration, citizenship and border security system for decades.

 Labour is committed to building on the progress we have made to create a system in which people can have confidence, which protects the security of the United Kingdom and prevents abuse of our laws. In this new world, people need to know that the rules for immigration are fair and that coming to Britain is a privilege, not a right.

 Labour is strengthening our borders with a single border force to guard our ports and airports. We are introducing ID cards for foreign nationals and we are reinstating electronic border controls to count people in and out of the country.

 We have introduced the Australian-style points based system which will make sure we only attract people with the skills our country needs. In response to the economic situation, we have used the flexibility of the points based system to make our criteria more selective, and expect overall numbers of migrants to fall as a result. We have introduced a new fund, paid for by contributions from migrants, to help those local areas which have faced rapid population change. And our Earned Citizenship proposals
make clear that we expect newcomers to support themselves, learn English, pay taxes and obey the law.  

Labour is steadfast in our determination to tackle people trafficking and we will continue to work both at home and with our European partners to end this horrific crime that trades on human misery.