Labour minister Stephen Kinnock has insisted the party's plans to crack down on migration have "absolutely nothing to do with any other party" as it is predicted that Reform UK will surge in Thursday's local elections.
Reform UK is projected to secure hundreds of council seats, multiple mayoralties and could win the Runcorn & Helsby by-election.
The MP defended Labour's approach to immigration as the number of migrants crossing the Channel in 2025 is approaching 10,000 today.
Kinnock said Labour's commitment to reducing migration numbers was a manifesto pledge unrelated to electoral concerns about Reform UK.
Stephen Kinnock has insisted the party's plans to crack down on migration have "absolutely nothing to do with any other party"
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Speaking to GB News, he explained: "We’re absolutely committed to bringing migration numbers down. That was in our manifesto.
"It has absolutely nothing to do with any other party, this is fundamentally a Labour commitment to having a fair immigration system, but also one that works for our economy.
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"By the way, we’ve seen record numbers of deportations under Labour: 24,000 people who shouldn’t be here have been deported since the 4th of July a significant increase in the number of foreign national offenders being removed.
"We recognise that we inherited a terrible mess in terms of our asylum and immigration system record numbers coming into the country. We’re getting on top of that, but it’s not going to be the work of 24 hours.”
GB News host Ellie Costello fumed: “You don’t have control over our borders, do you? Because since January, we’re expecting to pass this threshold today, 10,000 small boat arrivals. Since January, you’ve promised to smash the gangs. It’s anything but.”
Kinnock responded: “Well, it’s absolutely right that we’ve got to get the numbers coming across in small boats down. The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are absolutely committed to doing that.
"We’ve set up the Border Control Agency, and we are working to smash the gangs through cooperation with our international partners.
"We’ve got a problem at the source, but it’s also very encouraging to see conversations progressing with our European partners and allies.
"It’s going to take some time because this situation was allowed to spiral out of control under the previous government.
"The Home Secretary and the Prime Minister are straining every sinew to get on top of this issue.”
Ellie Costello said that "we don't have control of our borders"
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Keir Starmer's Government is preparing to publish a "white paper" aimed at cutting legal migration before May 19.
The plan will target a loophole which allows foreign students to remain in the UK on graduate visas before taking low-paid jobs in the "gig economy" or care sector.
A Home Office source said: "We've made a really strong commitment that the Home Secretary wants to reduce net migration. We will use the immigration white paper as a tool for that."
