What Starmer’s Resignation Will Mean for UK Immigration Reforms

Continuing the legacy of upheavals in British politics since Brexit, Sir Keir Starmer stepped down as the UK’s Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party on 22 June 2026, leaving the doors open for his Labour compatriot and most likely successor Andy Burnham.

Almost everyone, from Starmer’s political rivals (both within and outside the party) to those who study British politics to the common UK public, has their own take on what his resignation means for the UK’s domestic and international policies. News channels and websites are constantly churning out all possible scenarios one after the other.

Amidst all this, we at Total Law ask what a majority of our clients are thinking: what does this mean for the UK immigration scene?

Is UK Immigration Policy Going to Change Soon?

UK immigration policy is not going to change overnight as Keir Starmer resigns. The Labour Party has a three-figure majority in the UK Parliament and is all set to name the next Prime Minister. Nigel Farage’s demand for a general election does not hold water at the moment.

So, if you are planning to immigrate to the UK, be aware of the current restrictions in place striving to reduce net migration, such as:

• Increased skills and salary requirements for the Skilled Worker route
• A reduction in Graduate visa time limit (from two years to 18 months)
• Requirement of an increased level of English language knowledge
• No more overseas recruitment of care workers
• Government’s stance on earned settlement
• Rigorous monitoring of sponsor compliance

If you are already a migrant living in the country eyeing indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or possibly citizenship, be prepared for:

• ILR qualifying period lengthening
• Citizenship rules tightening
• Benefits for migrants decreasing
• Automatic refugee protection ending
• Use of detention centres increasing

Long-Term Impact of Starmer’s Resignation on the UK Immigration Scene

The Labour Party won 174 seats in the Parliament in the 2024 election, a huge 63%. The Starmer resignation doesn’t mean a parliamentary crisis as all his party has simply to do is to name a new leader.

What is not so smooth-sailing is the public perception. Although Labour attained a three-figure majority, it won a mere 34% of national vote in 2024, quite a low share historically. Given that, the failure to deliver a steady leadership is now more than likely to cost the party further.

Add to this the May 2025 local election results. Farage’s populist far-right Reform UK party won big while Labour lost hundreds of seats even in its erstwhile strongholds. This victory not only signalled an increase in hard-right, anti-immigrant sentiments in the UK, but also brought Labour party rifts out into the open.

More than 100 of Labour MPs went public with calls for Starmer to stand down. Wes Streeting quit as health secretary, followed by the resignation of the widely-respected defence secretary John Healey. Burnham’s return to Westminster was, arguably, the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back.

For UK immigration scene, however, the message is clear: any future PM or government is going to continue with tougher immigration rules, in line with what’s happening at the other side of the Atlantic under Trump or in the Continent with the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact coming into force last week.

While exceptionally talented as well as high net worth individuals are going to experience a smoother immigration journey, refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants will find it increasingly challenging to begin a new life on the UK shores.

Will Burnham Be the Next PM?

On the same date as Starmer resigned, his likely successor Andy Burnham, the newly elected MP from Makerfield in northern England, took a train from Manchester to London for his swearing-in ceremony in Westminster. Coincidental? Yes. Significant? Maybe.

Burnham’s resounding defeat of Reform UK in Makerfield, an area that had just voted for Farage’s party in local elections, earned him party-wide trust and respect. With former health minister Wes Streeting putting his support behind Burnham and ruling himself out of the succession race, the Makerfield MP is the most likely candidate for the top job now.

If Burnham is going to succeed Starmer as the next PM, his plans involve keeping MP Shabana Mahmood as the home secretary. The newly-elected Makerfield MP has rolled back from his earlier critical stand on UK immigration system reforms, and now backs Mahmood’s tougher immigration measures, including stricter citizenship rules and expanded use of detention centres, instead.

If we go by the data, net migration fell dramatically under Starmer’s immigration reforms, from its peak at 944,000 in 2023 to 171,000 in 2025. This is one of the lowest figures since Brexit and the largest decline in years. With Mahmood continuing with her reforms, there is no apparent reason for the trend to be any different in the near future.

However, think tanks and policy gurus claim that many people in the UK today still believe net migration is rising in Britain, notwithstanding the dramatic drop in figures. Managing this public perception is going to be quite a challenge for the new PM.

Immigration As a Major Issue in 2029 Elections: Labour Vs. Reform UK

The next UK general election is scheduled to be held in 2029, and immigration reforms are going to play a central part in it. By the numbers alone, Starmer’s immigration policy appears to be successful in curbing net migration, but Reform UK’s rise has definitely undermined its political impact.

Will Burnham be the next PM? Will the next Labour PM be in office until 2029, or will there be further changes at No. 10 Downing Street? Will the rapidly changing international political and economic scenario throw bigger curveballs towards the UK leadership meanwhile?

Farage already warned on social media: “If Labour thinks it can shove another professional politician into No. 10, it has another thing coming.”

We’ll see how that pans out for Starmer’s successor, the Labour government, and the hundreds of thousands of migrants in Britain.