The Labor Party says it will aim to reduce annual net migration to below 200,000.

Darren Jones, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said Labor would seek to reduce net migration. Photo: Typhoon Salchi/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Labour will limit annual net migration, the difference between the number of people who come to live in Britain and those who leave, to 200,000 a year, a senior party spokesman has said.

It comes as it was revealed that net migration to the UK in 2022 was a record 745,000 people, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, thanks largely to a surge in the number of people coming here to work in the health and social care sectors.

BBC correspondent Laura Kuenssberg asked Jones twice whether his party would seek to reduce net migration to normal levels during the government's first term.

The second time he replied: “I think , we would probably hope so.”

'Normal level'

“But we have talked about a decade of national renewal because we think the deep structural problems left to us by the Conservative government over the last 13 years will take time to fix and will take time to resolve.

“The only thing you can be sure of is that the Conservatives created these problems and they have neither the energy nor the ideas to solve them, but we, the Labor Party, will.”

Mr Jones previously said: «The usual level is a couple of hundred thousand a year, but it depends on the needs of the economy.»

“And that's why the really important question is: if there are so many vacancies in the economy, why do we have people out of work in the UK who should be able to get training, gain skills and access jobs that interest them? area.

«That's why these are abnormally high figures, particularly in the health and social care system, which reflects problems in the way the government runs the NHS.»

When he was first asked whether people should expect Labor to cut immigration to normal levels, he replied: “The Conservatives set targets and limits and failed every year.”

David Cameron in 2010, before the Conservatives came to power, promised to reduce net migration to “ tens of thousands» a year.

His government's repeated failure to achieve this goal is believed by some to have contributed to Brexit. .

Raising the wage threshold for foreign workers

Labour's Yvette Cooper said at the weekend that she would raise wage requirements for foreign workers wanting to come to the UK.

Although the annual wage threshold for a skilled worker visa set at £26,200, positions on the Shortage List may be offered at £20,960 or a 20 per cent discount, whichever is higher.

In line with Labour's proposals. The shadow home secretary said the pay threshold would be raised based on recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee, the watchdog body that advises the government on immigration. The 20 per cent discount will be scrapped.

Outlining proposals to curb legal migration, Ms Cooper said Labor would also limit the ability of companies that do not pay «fair» wages to hire staff from overseas. and crack down on care agencies who abuse the visa system.

The Occupations Shortage List is a key part of the government's post-Brexit points-based immigration system, which identifies skilled jobs for which there are not enough domestic workers workers, such as engineers, IT specialists and masons.

Employers find it easier to hire employees from abroad as they can offer below-market salaries.