The long run-up to the publication of the government’s immigration white paper was one thing, with plenty of predictable talk about greater rigour and crackdowns. But Sir Keir Starmer’s presentation for the benefit of the public and the media on Monday morning took the prepared tough line to a whole other level.
Here was a Labour prime minister and a former human rights lawyer of some distinction, speaking in terms that would not be out of place at a Reform UK rally – the closest political entity that the UK has to a far-right party on the European model.
