Immigration has shaped UK politics for the past 20 years, often in ways that surprised at the time but which appear in hindsight to make perfect sense. David Cameron’s 2010 pledge to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands set the Tory party on a collision course first with Brexit and then the subsequent incarnation of Nigel Farage and Reform UK.

Voters didn’t fail to notice that immigration reached a peak of around 900,000 in 2023, largely on the watch of Brexit’s poster boy, Boris Johnson.

For Labour, the issue has shaped the party in a different way; yes, helping it return to power after Brits stopped trusting anything the Conservatives said, but also........

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