A future Labour government would raise the salary requirements for foreign workers coming to the UK amid growing pressure to curtail migration, the Times newspaper reported, citing Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary.

The party plans to increase the threshold for foreign workers from the current £26,200 a year, based on recommendations from the migration advisory committee, the Times said. It would also scrap the lower threshold for jobs that are on the shortage occupation list, the newspaper said.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his ruling Conservative Party have been criticized for failing to fulfill a vow to bring down migration numbers following the release of data that showed an estimated 672,000 more people moved to the UK than departed in the year ending June, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Data for the year ending December 2022, which was already thought to see a record net number of migrants arrive, was revised up heavily to 745,000.

Migration to UK Still Near Record Despite Sunak Clampdown (3)

Cooper also told the Times that the Labour Party would limit the ability of companies that don’t pay fair wages to recruit from abroad.