Andrew Neil accuses Keir Starmer of 'gaslighting to a deplorable level'

Andrew Neil has accused Sir Keir Starmer of taking "lying and gaslighting" to a "deplorable" level. The veteran journalist and broadcaster took aim at the Prime Minister after the Home Office trumpeted the latest net migration figures, which show a 50% reduction on 2023's numbers.

Mr Neil argued in his latest opinion piece for the Daily Mail that the fall in net migration was "largely" the result of tougher visa rules brought in under the previous Conservative government when James Cleverly was home secretary. He said that while it was in opposition Labour had attacked Mr Cleverly's rule-tightening, with then Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper dismissing it as "chaotic" and a "Tory failure".

Mr Neil said that didn't stop Sir Keir tweeting the claim that Labour "have nearly halved net migration in the last year", adding: "We're taking back control." The journalist added: "Labour, of course, had done no such thing. It had merely presided over implementing the new rules it inherited from the Tories."

He said: "This is not misleading or obfuscation or being economical with the truth or any other circumlocution we might like to fall back on to gloss over what is really happening. It is, in plain English, a downright lie."

The net migration figure stood at an estimated 431,000 in the year ending December 2024, down 49.9% from 860,000 a year earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics.

It marked the biggest calendar-year drop since the early stages of the Covid pandemic when net migration fell from 184,000 in the year ending December 2019 to 93,000 in the year ending December 2020.

The latest decrease was the largest numerical drop on record and the ONS said the decline was driven by falling numbers of people coming to work and study in the UK. Long-term immigration fell below one million for the first time in around three years.

Mr Neil argued Labour's victory claim was motivated by its desperation to counter the appeal of Reform UK, which has exploited public concern about mass migration to the UK.

Ms Cooper has said the fall in net migration was "welcome after the figures quadrupled to nearly a million in the last parliament". She added: "Our Immigration White Paper sets out radical reforms to further reduce net migration."

The Prime Minister, who said the country risks becoming an "island of strangers" without better integration, has said he wants net migration to have fallen "significantly" by the next general election - but refused to set a target number.

Sir Keir's plan includes reforming work and study visas and requiring a higher level of English across all immigration routes, and is expected to reduce the number of people coming to the UK by up to 100,000 per year.

The PM's reference to strangers faced criticism - including from Labour backbenchers - as it was said by some to have echoes of Enoch Powell's infamous "rivers of blood" speech.

In a further take down, Mr Neil suggested Brits shouldn't be surprised "lying and gaslighting" have become "distinguishing features" of Sir Keir's Government.

As evidence, he pointed to Sir Keir's support for former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and election pledges by the party not to raise taxes, while going on to do so to the tune of £40billion, according to Mr Neil.

He went on to list "porky pies" that were "too ludicrous" to take seriously, including Cabinet minister Lucy Powell claiming the Government had to cut the winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners to avoid a run on the pound.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood's floating the idea of chemical castration for sex offenders he described as an "absurd proposition" which would never happen.

The Labour Party has been approached for comment.