A Reform UK-run council has complained to ministers about Labour’s crackdown on migrant workers, saying the new restrictions are too harsh – despite the party’s manifesto pledge to drastically cut immigration.
Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran has written to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper expressing “grave concerns” about legislation that will scrap care worker visas and raise salary thresholds for skilled workers from £38,700 to £41,700. The changes, which take effect from 22 July, will also eliminate 111 occupations from eligibility for skilled worker visas.
In a striking departure from Reform UK’s anti-immigration stance, Ms Kemkaran warned that the changes could leave council services and private care providers on a “cliff edge.
Care Sector Crisis Fears
The Reform leader’s letter, co-signed by cabinet member for adult social care Diane Morton, highlighted the council’s dependence on overseas workers. Across the contracts for the Council’s adult social care and health services there are approximately 150 providers we are aware of who have sponsorship licences which is equal to 20-25 per cent of our social care workforce being from overseas,” Ms Kemkaran wrote.
She warned that combined with increased employer National Insurance contributions from April 2025, the situation was “totally unsustainable.” The council leader expressed concerns that “many care workers at this level will go home and leave providers on a cliff edge.
Due to the challenges facing the adult social care system in general, and care providers in particular, we urge you to reconsider these changes,” the letter concluded.
Labour’s Immigration Overhaul
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the sweeping reforms as part of Labour’s Immigration White Paper, promising a “complete reset” of the immigration system. The measures represent the first major policy changes aimed at reducing net migration, which reached 866,000 in 2023.
These new rules mean stronger controls to bring migration down, to restore order to the immigration system and to ensure we focus on investing in skills and training here in the UK,” Cooper stated when unveiling the reforms.
The changes will see the skills threshold for skilled workers raised from RQF level 3 (A-level equivalent) to RQF level 6 (degree level), effectively removing access for medium-skilled occupations. The government expects the measures to reduce immigration by up to 50,000 over the next year.
Reform’s Immigration Paradox
The complaint from Kent’s Reform council highlights an apparent contradiction in the party’s position. Reform UK campaigned on a platform of drastically reducing immigration, with party leader Nigel Farage regularly criticising both legal and illegal migration levels.
Ms Kemkaran herself has previously taken hardline stances on immigration-related issues. In June, she suggested abolishing English language classes for immigrants in Kent, questioning whether they represented “value for money” for taxpayers and proposing language apps like Duolingo as alternatives.
The council leader has also pledged to focus on tackling illegal migration and recently announced the creation of a Department of Local Government Efficiency (DOLGE) to cut costs across the authority.
Sector-Wide Concerns
Kent County Council is not alone in its concerns about the care worker visa changes. The care sector has been heavily reliant on overseas recruitment, with approximately 10,000 people arriving on care worker visas where sponsorship was subsequently cancelled due to jobs not materialising or not meeting proper standards.
Cooper has indicated that care companies should recruit from this existing pool of workers already in the UK rather than continuing overseas recruitment. The changes will be accompanied by a new fair pay agreement for care workers.
Jonathan Portes, professor of economics at King’s College London, warned that the measures could undermine the economy. Knee-jerk policymaking to reduce immigration will lower not only overall economic output but also average household incomes and living standards,” he stated.
Political Response
The irony of a Reform-run council opposing immigration restrictions has not gone unnoticed. Labour MP Mike Tapp, who represents Dover and Deal, has previously clashed with Ms Kemkaran over her leadership of the council.
Reform UK won control of Kent County Council in May 2025, securing 57 of the 81 seats in a landslide victory. The party had campaigned on promises to put “the people of Kent at the heart of everything we do” and to implement “common-sense politics.
The Migration Advisory Committee is currently reviewing salary requirements and will report within six months. However, the care worker visa route closure and occupation list changes will proceed as planned this month.
As councils across the country grapple with care sector staffing crises, the Reform administration’s plea to Labour highlights the complex realities of immigration policy when campaign rhetoric meets the practical challenges of governing.
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Photo of Nigel Farage at Trago Mills in June 2024 by Ben Smith, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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