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.

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."

Morgan and Sir Keir will take 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.