The UK is a proud outward-looking nation and for generations people have come here to work, study or build new businesses, and Brits have travelled overseas to live and work. That will always be important, but it is also why migration needs to be properly managed and controlled so the system is fair and works for the UK. And it is why tomorrow the Labour Government is publishing a new plan to restore control and order to the immigration system and bring net migration down.

The failures of the last Conservative government are stark – not just on visa controls but on the economy too. Overseas recruitment soared while training in the UK was cut.

As just one example, engineering visas near doubled, while engineering apprenticeships near halved. Lower skilled visas shot up while the number of UK residents in work or education fell.

As part of the new immigration policies set out in 2020, employers weren’t just allowed, they were incentivised to recruit from abroad. The Department of Health promoted overseas recruitment for the NHS and social care while failing to tackle workforce problems at home. The Conservatives replaced free movement with a free market free-for-all, with damaging consequences not only for our economy and labour market, but for public confidence and community cohesion too.

And, most damaging of all, criminal gangs were allowed to build an entire smuggling industry along our borders undermining our security and creating a crisis in the asylum system, with costs spiralling out of control.

Despite promising to bring down net migration, instead, under the Conservatives, it hit a record high of nearly a million in their last year in office. We can’t carry on like this. It is time to restore control.

That’s why this week we are setting out a radical package of reforms to bring down net migration and to create an immigration system that is properly controlled, managed and fair. This will include new visa controls, such as lifting the threshold for skilled worker visas to reduce lower skilled migration, and new requirements to boost training and skills here in the UK.

This new system will be underpinned by five core principles:

First, that net migration must come down so the system is properly managed and controlled.

Second, that the immigration system must be linked to skills and training requirements here in the UK, so that no industry is allowed to rely on immigration to fill its skills shortages.

Third, that the system must be fair and effective, with clearer rules agreed by Parliament in areas such as respect for family life, to prevent confusion or perverse outcomes.

Fourth that the rules must be respected and enforced – from our crackdown on illegal working to the deportation of foreign criminals.

And finally, that the system must support integration and community cohesion.

These changes are essential to end the chaos left by the Tories in the immigration system and to regain control.

Throughout our history, Britain has been strengthened by people coming to start new businesses, study at our universities, contribute to our sporting or creative excellence or become doctors and nurses in our NHS. But to be successful, effective and fair, our immigration system must be properly controlled and managed.