This book has described the themes of immigration policy under Labour, a perspective that has shown there have been continuities but also radical policy changes since 1997. The post-war settlement of restriction and integration has been recast around a work-focused system, ending the bifurcated policy that lasted 40 years and, in particular, the policy of limitation. The analysis of five different dimensions, themes or domains of migration policy showed that there was no ‘single’ policy with its own internal dynamic of change, but instead a number of interdependent ‘layers’, that often only make sense when analysed individually (for more detail, see Chapter 6).

This book has also offered an original examination of the forces and influences that have led to such a new policy direction. A range of inputs accounts for change, from setting parameters and developing content, to implementation; and categorising the inputs at macro, meso and micro level provides a more complete picture of why policy has changed. The three macro-level influences (globalisation, domestic and international law, and Europe) emerge as boundary setters, with Europe providing the infrastructure and space for the first two forces to have real impact. At a meso level, network theory supplements our understanding of policy change in the period 1997–2007, explaining how – in a globalising world – economic migration policy was shaped to meet the new reality. The chapters on politics, attitudes and the media showed that politics has shaped the content of policy; politicians, the media and attitudes, particularly on asylum and security issues, were interdependent, part of feedback loops that bounced off one another. Officials emerge as important in policy implementation, but less important as explanatory variables for policy change.

Furthermore, by disaggregating to the level of policy theme, some influences stand out strongly. Managed migration has been strongly influenced by globalisation and a strong network or ‘policy community’, while asylum has been dominated by public attitudes, the media and the politics of electoral calculation (for a thorough summary, see Chapter 15).

Finally, the last part of this book presented an evaluation of policy, using the aims and targets laid down in the Public Sector Agreement (PSA) regime, to provide insights into whether Labour's migration policy objectives have been achieved.