Will Labour’s VISA crackdown benefit the UK?

0:04Hello, I'm John Weekes and welcome back to The Standard Podcast. If you're new here, hit follow and leave a review. Coming up, all the goss from the 2025 Met Gala, including the best and worst dressed, plus Rihanna's big announcement. I'll be joined by entertainment editor Lisa McLaughlin. Something not on my bingo card was Jean Baptiste serenading Serena Williams with a tune on a saxophone in the middle of the carpet. But first, the Home Office has announced plans to crack down on visa applications to the UK. Under the proposed crackdown, applications from people who fit the profile of someone who may claim asylum and who are from countries with high rates of asylum claims will be rejected.

0:47It's part of Labour's promise to bring down the numbers of people coming into the country from abroad. The London Standards Chief Political Correspondent Rachel Burford joins me now to discuss this. So Rachel, what do we know about this new visa crackdown in terms of who exactly Labour are planning to crack down on entering the country? Yeah, so this is rumoured to be part of the Labour government's big immigration white paper, which we're expecting in the next few weeks. And it'll sort of lay out the Labour government's plan to what they say is rebuild the broken immigration system in Britain.

1:24Now, this is one of the proposals that's sort of been leaked and put out there, which is that essentially there'll be a kind of crackdown on people getting a visa to come to this country, whether that's student visa or work visa and then when they get here claiming asylum and then you know having to go through the sort of asylum application perhaps being put to one of those asylum hotels at the cost of the taxpayer and not actually coming here for the purpose that they said on their application that they were going to and I think there's been a few countries that the government say that they may be targeting as part of this so that's places like Pakistan Sri Lanka they say that there is a higher number of people coming from these countries that are then you know coming here on a visa and then actually just claiming asylum when they get here.

2:12Okay I see and obviously this is part of Labour's plans to cut net migration. Is it the kind of thing people are really frustrated about or are they more frustrated about illegal migration for example? So I think this being there was sort of a crackdown on abuse of the immigration system because essentially what the government say people are doing is they are saying they're coming here to study or coming here to work and then they're not actually doing that and they didn't actually have an intention to do that perhaps. They want to come to Britain to claim asylum. So this is sort of the government are sort of portraying this as kind of closing of a loophole.

2:49You know, these people may come here legally and then for whatever reason their circumstances change, they then become illegal. Perhaps they overstay their visa. That's what this sort of is a crackdown on, is people overstaying those visas. So coming here on a two-year student visa and then actually just disappearing off into the work sector and not ever leaving. So it's kind of a sort of, it's in between areas of sort of, you know, not people coming over on sort of small boats to claim asylum in the UK that way. It's sort of in between that and someone legitimately applied for a visa and then coming here to work or study.

3:25another sort of part of it it's been suggested is the fact that if someone applied to come to this country on for example student visa they have to show that they have got enough money to live here and they've got to provide evidence and documents in their visa application to show that they can live here and will not need to be supported by the state what the government is suggesting they're going to do now is because they've had so many people then get here and claim asylum they're going to use their evidence essentially against them if they do try and claim asylum and say they need you know taxpayer money to live which I think is quite an interesting policy I think there was a BBC clip that went viral quite recently about a student I think who had come here on a student visa and was being supported by his uncle back in Sri Lanka and then his uncle had been shot dead in Sri Lanka and he was unable to go back so he ended up sort of sleeping rough on the streets of Brynn because he didn't have that support anymore so you know I I think there is going to have to be this idea that, you know, people's circumstances, whether you're from here or not, people's circumstances change all the time.

4:25So a very sort of strict, you know, one rule for everyone kind of policy may not work. And it's going to be sort of charities, you know, and councils essentially that bear the brunt of dealing with people, you know, living on their streets. If they suddenly find themselves that, you know, can't afford housing or are not getting housing they expected. And obviously this has come out, as you said, as a sort of leak. But you think the planning in the background, at least, is potentially a knee-jerk reaction to Reform UK's wins at the local elections? So Labour in the manifesto did actually pledge to crack down on immigration.

5:00That was one of their big pledges. We were actually expecting this immigration white paper quite a bit earlier, before the local elections. It hasn't come yet. And I think everyone knew that voters were annoyed about immigration and it was a big issue for voters, as it has been at many elections. But the successive reform at the local elections last week has really hit home how much of an important issue it is in certain parts of the country. You know, you saw that it was mostly Tory councils up for election at the recent local elections. But, you know, even when there were Labour seats, we did see reform really, you know, taking a lot of votes off Labour as well.

5:41So it's not just a problem for the Conservatives. This is a problem for the Labour Party. And I think, you know, those election results really did hammer that home to them. So if they do go ahead with this crackdown, Rachel, and it works, how big a win would that be for Labour? The areas that are voting for reform tend to be the areas that don't necessarily have huge amounts of immigration. You know, places like London, which, you know, it's a very diverse population here in the capital, you know, Londoners are not voting reform on mass scale, as we see in other parts of the country, which are less diverse.

6:16So there's a kind of knee jerk reaction to what they see as, you know, perhaps immigration harming the areas that they are living in. It's a very complicated issue. It's not just about, you know, people coming in in small boats. or that has become the sort of poster for it. So it's very hard to say how much of an impact it will actually have on people voting, whether or not people choose to back Labour at the next election. Last year, what we did see after the Tories imposed those new, much harsher restrictions on coming to the UK, foreign workers, you know, they increased the salary threshold needed to come here.

6:52They stopped people bringing dependents with them in many industries. We saw a big drop in the number of people coming here legally after that. But what we did see last year was a big rise in the number of people claiming asylum. So just over 108 ,000 people last year claimed asylum in this country. And actually quite a large bulk of those were people that had come here on a visa. And then when they got here, they went to claim asylum. And that is what I think the government is trying to crack down here on here so they could actually, you know, show in these figures and say, OK, look, we solve this problem, we're trying to deal with it.

7:30And economically speaking, is there any suggestion from experts about what this measure could do for the UK? Obviously, there are studies which suggest migrants actually contribute more to the UK economy than they take out. But I guess in this scenario, the kind of migrants they're trying to stop coming over, is that necessarily the case? Yeah, it's hard to say at the moment because it's not been put in place, it's not actually official policy yet. But, I mean, yeah, there are lots of studies that say, you know, migrants have contributed hugely to this country. And when you look at big authorities like the NHS, you know, that would simply not exist without immigration.

8:06And actually, the most recent crackdown on immigration under the last Tory government has put more strain on some industries, as we've seen. You know, we've seen fewer care workers coming over, fewer people coming to work in the NHS and the lower paid sort of jobs. The hospitality industry has also been hit. It cannot get the same amount of staff. And then farming industries who rely on seasonal workers and things like that. There have been fewer of those coming over. So I think there is going to be a real life impact of these policies. I think the work to sort of find out what that will be is ongoing.

8:40But ultimately, British voters have told the government that they want to see immigration be brought down. And that is what the Labour Party are trying to do at the moment.

8:54Let's go to a break now. Coming up, all the goss from the Met Gala in New York, courtesy of Lisa McLaughlin. We'll see you back here in just a moment.

9:10Welcome back. Now to New York, where celebs gathered for the 2025 Met Gala. It's hailed as one of the most important nights of the year for the fashion industry, and with it comes all manner of outfits, celeb gossip and sometimes political statements. Joining me now to look back on yesterday's event is entertainment editor Lisa McLaughlin. So Lisa, you were just saying to me that the Met Gala is more like a mad Tuesday than the first mad Monday of May. First of all, what was the theme for this year and why has it been so busy for you today so far? Yeah, I suppose first off, the theme for this year was based on the spring exhibition that's happening at the Met as well called Superfine Tailoring Black Style.

9:52It was a celebration of the black dandy and the way clothing has shaped and expressed black identity across the Atlantic dysphora. You know, what we saw on the carpet, it was all about swagger, elegance and subversion. I suppose, you know, you got to think exaggerated tailoring. There was lush fabrics and nods to Caribbean, African-American and West African influences. To be honest, the Met doesn't always land as theme but this year really really honored the brief I feel and you know obviously the gala isn't just a fashion show for us armchair critics it aims to raise funds for the costume institute and the event had done itself before it even begun raising a record 31 million dollars it's actually the biggest growth in the event's 77 year history so that's why I've been so guzzing today amazing it makes sense and you know matching the trend or the theme of the show is one thing but there were always wacky outfits.

10:45What were some of the most outrageous of the night? Yeah, there were definitely some wild moments. I suppose what comes to mind first is Andre 3000 who arrived with a baby grand piano on his back. Like, you know, sure, why not? But also there were some surprise appearances on the carpet with Madonna making her return to the carpet since 2018. There's also other standout celeb moments with Dua Lipa and Callum Turner making their Met Gala debut. Kamala Harris actually swerved the carpet and something not on my bingo card was John Baptiste serenading Serena Williams with a tune on a saxophone in the middle of the carpet.

11:20So while it might not be always about the wackiest outfits, it's sometimes about the wackiest moments. And were there any particularly bad ones? Do you know what? Bad is always subjective. Sure, look, there were some that were giving more gala than net gala. Like A-list men in plain tuxedos just need to be banned. It's the fashion equivalent of someone showing up to a costume party in jeans like so you've got to go big or go home unfortunately i'd have to say kendall jenner and hayley bieber didn't get the memo and we're giving more office wear than outcature however in the same breath one thing that gets overlooked amid the flurry of commentary about whether a celeb's look is good or bad it's actually the craftsmanship that goes into creating these pieces for an evening for example denny moore's Tom Browngown featured a reported 1 million beads and took, I think, 7 ,600 hours to make.

12:11That in itself is a feat that should be celebrated, whether you like it or not, you know. And were there any particularly strong political messages from celebs through their outfits this year? Because often there are political messages that come out through various designs. Did we have any of that for 2025? Look, there was one questionable homage. It's reported that Lisa, who is a singer and the star of the current season of The White Lotus reportedly wore lace pants that were embroidered with Rosa Parks' face, which I don't know if that's how I would want to be paid tribute to. But you know what was lovely is that aside from political messaging was that many honoured the late Andre Leon Talley in their looks.

12:54You know, you had Coleman Domingo, who was co-chairing. He paid tribute as he rode in a blue Valentino cape, while Serena Williams, Lupita Nyong 'o and Diana Ross rather followed suit. One notable thing which was actually quite sweet was that Ross really made a statement when she arrived with an 18-foot train which had her children and grandchildren's names embroidered into it. And Rihanna used the event to announce her third pregnancy. It's become a bit of a trademark for her, hasn't it? Doing these pregnancy announcements through outfits at big events like the Met Gala. Ah, look, at this point, Rihanna treats the Mechella like her own personal stage for major life announcements.

13:31And honestly, you know, we love her for it. She turned pregnancy reveals into a kind of art form. Like you mentioned, we can't forget her pregnancy announcement during her Super Bowl halftime show in 2023. But this one was especially powerful given the theme. You know, she wore a custom-marked Jacob look, which accentuated her bump. So she was serving both style and motherhood. And Sabrina Carpenter's made the headlines this morning for a couple of reasons. first of all for a sort of run-in with her ex. Do you know what happened there? Well, you know what's quite interesting is that both Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan actually had made their debut last year at the Met Gala and obviously subsequently it has been reported that they had split.

14:10So there was a bit of a... I think they gave each other a wide berth on the carpet this time around and so none of us, none of the flashing lights got to take a photograph of the two of them together or have an awkward interaction But I think what's also quite noticeable and has been a real talking point is that Sabrina was notably not wearing any pants on the red carpet. So apparently she told reporters at the Met that Pharrell Williams, who is the creative director behind Louis Vuitton at the moment, he said, you're quite short, so you're not going to have any pants on. So she's like, here we are.

14:46Here we are. But she has said there are pros to it, namely that she'll be able to go to the bathroom this time around. So looking back at the past Met Gala events over the years, where do you think 2025 ranks for the fashion, the celeb gossip and the drama? On the fashion front, I really do think it honoured the theme. You know, a lot of people miss the mark when it comes to the dress code at the Met. And this year I actually felt like they really embraced it. And there was some incredible tailoring. Truly there was, which makes it so exciting for the spring exhibition that they're also, you know, that's happening at the Met.

15:23When it comes to celeb gossip, we're still getting, you know, the tea hasn't fully been spilt about what's actually happened. And that will come in the coming days. So I think we just got to give that side of things a little bit of a wide berth and a little bit of time to roll out. But ultimately, I really do think it was a successful Met Gala in terms of fashion anyway.

15:46And that's The Standard. For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk. If you'd like to get in touch, drop us a line at podcasts at standard.co.uk. This podcast will be back tomorrow at 4pm. See you then.