Finding a Balance? Labour's Immigration Dilemmas under Starmer and Burnham

Abstract Immigration was one of the most contentious policy and political issues for Keir Starmer's government. This article looks at how the policy and political agenda of the Starmer government evolved, analysing the sharply contested debate about the electoral impact of Labour's voice and policies on immigration. It outlines the challenges and opportunities for the Burnham government, setting out what a social democratic plan on immigration, seeking to fuse control, contribution and compassion, would mean for the key policy and political choices that the new government faces on immigration.