Starmer migration plan will damage Wales, FM fears

Wales' first minister says she is worried Sir Keir Starmer's migration plans will damage the country.

Speaking to a BBC podcast, Eluned Morgan said she was concerned about "both" the prime minister's policy and the language he used to announce it.

Morgan criticised Sir Keir ahead of a meeting with him in London on Friday, telling Political Thinking with Nick Robinson she had a "list" of issues with the UK government.

The Welsh Labour leader also called for winter fuel payments for all but the richest of pensioners, and said she would "stick" to the left of UK Labour as the party fights to stay in power in Wales.

The Welsh Conservatives said Morgan was "fabricating rows" with Labour in Westminster while Plaid Cymru accused her of waging a "phoney air war".

Morgan has become more publicly critical of the UK Labour government in recent weeks, making complaints over devolution, benefits cuts and other issues.

In an ITV Wales interview on Thursday evening she called for Sir Keir to "start coughing up" for Wales.

The strategy comes as Welsh Labour prepares for the next Senedd election in May 2026, with recent opinion polls suggesting the party has a fight on its hands.

Labour has been the largest party in the Senedd at every election since devolution began in 1999, leading every Welsh government that has been formed.

It has also been the biggest party in Wales in every Westminster election since 1922.

Sir Keir has said the UK risked becoming an "island of strangers" without stricter controls on migration.

He plans to ban recruitment of care workers from overseas and tighten access to skilled worker visas.

Morgan has previously said proposals from Sir Keir could pose "challenges" for social care services if they could no longer recruit overseas workers.

Asked if she was worried about the prime minister's language and whether his policy would be made in a way that will "damage Wales", Morgan told the podcast: "I think both, actually. I don't think I'd use that language.

"I'm very keen on making sure that people feel comfortable in a cohesive community and that they feel welcome."

Downing Street has previously said Sir Keir stands by his words and "the argument he was making was that migrants make a massive contribution to our country, but migration needs to be controlled".

Morgan added: "I think it probably is worth emphasising that in Wales about 7% of the population are immigrants, which is much, much smaller than other parts of the country."

But she said "more or less" 50% of doctors and dentists in west Wales "are people who've been trained abroad".

She added: "The care services are something I'm particularly concerned about.

"Even things like getting people to work in pubs and things in the summer in our tourism sector, it's a challenge."

Asked if it was something she would raise with Sir Keir, she added: "I've got a list. He knows my list, OK?"

Morgan said her administration had "massively gained as a result of the UK Labour government, we have had the biggest uplift in our budget since the Senedd was established".

But she said she was putting Wales "first".

"I'm doing what it says on my Labour membership card. It says: 'country first'.

"My country is not quite the same country that Keir perhaps had in mind when he was writing that membership card."

She said Nigel Farage's Reform was a "challenge" for Labour "but we've also got a threat from Plaid Cymru, and I think we've got to take that seriously".

Morgan said it could not be taken for granted "that Labour will always be in power in Wales".

"I'm going to be true to my values. My values are not that I am going to tack to the right to take on Reform.

"I'm going to stick to the red Welsh way, which is more to the left than perhaps the centre of gravity in UK Labour at the moment."

Morgan welcomed the UK government's U-turn over winter fuel allowances for pensioners.

Sir Keir has announced plans to ease cuts but it remains unclear how many will regain their entitlement for the payments, or when the changes will take effect.

The first minister said: "I'm not sure if millionaires should be getting a winter fuel allowance. So let's just make sure that they don't get it."

She added she wanted "the majority of pensioners" to get the benefit.

Meanwhile, Morgan said she would be relaxed if richer people in London were taxed more and people in Wales could get more from the government.

"I recognise that there's an opportunity there, but that is a tough decision for the chancellor."

Darren Millar, Welsh Conservative Senedd leader, said people across Wales "are rightly concerned about immigration, so they will be unimpressed by the first minister's comments", and accused her of "fabricating rows" with Labour in Westminster.

He said she should be "standing up for people here in Wales by telling the prime minister to take tougher action to get immigration down by introducing a cap on numbers, and deporting all foreign criminals, including those who arrive here illegally".

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson also hit out at the first minister, pointing to a previous story where she had rejected "divisive language" on immigration, but where a spokesperson later said she was not talking about Sir Keir.

He said: "The people of Wales will not be fooled. This is nothing more than a phoney air war and a cynical attempt to conceal the fact that Labour's first minister and prime minister are joined at the hip."

Morgan and Sir Keir are taking part in the Council of Nations and Regions on Friday.

Downing Street said the prime minister would tell the leaders of the UK's devolved governments and English mayors that trade deals with India, US and the EU will deliver economic growth that will improve people's lives.

"These trade deals deliver long-term security for people in Wales," Sir Keir said.

The UK government has been asked to comment.

Political Thinking with Nick Robinson: Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds, or watch on BBC iPlayer live at 12:30 BST on Friday.