Reducing migration has little to do with Brexit – we’ve had a points-based system since 2008
The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy If Brexit is supposed to mean anything, it’s that the UK will “take back control”, including a tighter grip on migration. The one and only policy Boris Johnson has repeatedly proposed since the EU referendum is that Brexit means the UK can launch its own Australian-style points-based immigration system. Britain’s points-based system was launched over a decade ago in 2008 – by a Labour government. In the latest net migration figures, the Office for National Statistics confirms that not only is there a points-based system in operation but also that non-EU citizens coming to Britain through this system increased by 11 per cent over last year – “the highest level since.
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