Opinion Keir Starmer says the UK is under threat of becoming ‘an island of strangers’. It’s a troubling imagery

While we live in a time when changes to visa regulations and immigration governance have become the norm, what is particularly striking about Starmer’s recent speech is its eerie resemblance to the inflammatory ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech delivered by the former MP Enoch Powell in 1968, which called for the repatriation of immigrants and denounced Commonwealth migration to Britain.

How do migration narratives work?

Although the UK case is not an anomaly, it raises a larger issue that requires attention: The changing narratives of migration and mobility, and what they mean for migration policymaking.

By changing narratives, I refer to the strategic reworking of migration and mobility discourses. The structured storylines in media and political debates that frame migrants in terms of protagonists and antagonists, in the “us versus them” binary, shape perceptions of who belongs and who does not. These narratives exert a powerful influence, shaping public opinion and ultimately informing policy decisions. Governments actively engage and fund “migration communication campaigns” to attract, filter and deter the flow of migration in destination countries. The billion-dollar migration communication campaign launched by the UK government in Vietnam and Albania between 2022 and 2024 sought to “stop the boats”, dissuading potential migrants from coming to the UK through irregular routes.

Narratives on international migration and mobility stand at a critical juncture. With rising geopolitical tensions, a surge in abrupt deportations, passport inequity, and securitised borders, the freedom to move freely across international borders is being increasingly tested. While structured mobility pathways and bilateral agreements seek to facilitate the movement of labour, skill, and talent, growing anti-immigrant rhetoric, media sensationalism, and restrictive border policies are challenging international cooperation on migration and mobility. The destination countries in the West have politicised the “crackdown on immigration” as a response to the deepening socio-economic crisis at home. Whether a decrease in the net migration flow will lead to overall prosperity in the destination country is a question whose answer will only be revealed with time.

Why does a change in migration narratives matter?

The consequences of these changing narratives of migration and mobility are stark and grim. First, narratives lead to misinformation and misrepresentation of migrants in popular discourse. The persistent use of terms like “illegal migration” in media and political discussions fuels xenophobia and distorts the complex realities of migration. This distortion shapes public attitudes in polarising ways. A 2023 Migration Observatory study revealed that 52 per cent of Britons felt that immigration numbers should be reduced, while over 32 per cent were strongly opposed to immigration to the UK. These figures point to a hardening of public opinion, likely shaped by years of sensationalist headlines and political scapegoating.

At the heart of this problem is the use of dehumanising language. While national laws may define border crossings as legal or illegal, human beings themselves cannot be illegal. Recognising this, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), which was signed by over 150 countries, including India, in 2018, deliberately uses the term “irregular migration” to promote a neutral, rights-based framework. This language shift is not merely linguistic, but it reflects an intentional effort to restore dignity to global migration discourse.

Second, these narratives empower reactionary governance. In recent years, far-right leaders and populist regimes have increasingly weaponised migration and mobility narratives to consolidate political power and justify policy measures, often framing migrants as threats to national security and social cohesion. For instance, Denmark’s “ghetto law” forcibly relocates migrant-majority communities, while Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, and Geert Wilders have pushed hardline anti-immigration stances. This rhetoric has also led to funding cuts for research, silencing critical perspectives on the impact of such policies.

It is significant to note that current changes in visa policies and strict border controls in destination countries in the UK, Europe and the US did not emerge out of a vacuum. Instead, they are products of manufactured narratives, particularly visible during general election cycles. With movement across borders becoming heavily securitised and anxiety-inducing, it highlights the complex ways in which narratives influence migration policies and how policies, in turn, reinforce those narratives.

Most importantly, the impact of the regressive turn in migration narratives is not only seen in destination countries but also hits deeper at home. Migration narratives also shape the decision-making behaviour of migrants in their countries of origin. In the last few years, as the UK has adopted hardline measures to control net migration by increasing salary thresholds, introducing an NHS healthcare surcharge, the net migration in the UK has appeared to have decreased by 20 per cent in June 2024. These numbers suggest that the decision to move across borders is ultimately a humane one and is significantly influenced not only by the availability of better income opportunities, but also by the desire to live a better life with dignity and family.

This becomes even more critical when viewed against long-term trends: Ageing populations, shrinking labour forces, increasing emigration and growing care deficits not only in the UK but across Europe. Ironically, leaders continue to present migration as a policy crisis and migrants as a burden on the system, rather than as a reality to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, the human stories at the heart of mobility, of care workers, delivery drivers, students, and dependents, are flattened into statistics or erased entirely.

An island of stories, not strangers

Reframing the migration and mobility narrative is a pressing need. Policymakers, journalists, academics, and civil society actors must move beyond crisis-driven framings and invest in more constructive storytelling. This includes amplifying the voices of migrants, highlighting their contributions rather than presenting them as threats, and foregrounding the structural drivers of migration. While Britain may not yet be an island of strangers, it is more at risk of becoming an island ruled by fear-driven narratives. If we are to imagine a more just and sustainable migration future, we must first rewrite the “migration story” to talk about those who move. Because in the end, the borders we draw in language shape the borders we enforce in law.

The writer is a migration researcher and consultant at the Centre for Migration, Mobility and Diaspora Studies, Indian Council of World Affairs. Her work focuses on global mobility regimes, labour migration, and narrative framing in international policy