Just 24 hours after he described providing asylum as the “mark of a decent, compassionate country”, Keir Starmer said the UK had been too “generous” towards refugees, and announced a plan to end what he described as the asylum “golden ticket,” which allows people to resettle their families in Britain. For a refugee who has pulled the body of their child from the rubble of their bombed-out home, or made a perilous journey alone as a young adult having lost their family, it certainly doesn’t feel this way.
The government believes that to deter refugees from crossing the Channel in small boats, it must restrict their ability to reunite in Britain with their immediate family. It must also make it impossible for them to achieve settled status if they have ever claimed benefits or received a criminal record.
Labour may think that appearing tough on asylum seekers will win plaudits with those who might otherwise vote Reform. But to combat the rise of Reform, the government needs to do two things. It needs to demonstrate competence on controlling Britain’s borders at the same time as upholding British values of fairness, decency and compassion. This latest asylum announcement signals failure on both fronts.
The idea of restricting refugees’ rights to deter small boat crossings is not new. The previous Conservative government did exactly this; it had no real impact on small boat crossings. This is hardly surprising. After all, refugees don’t follow developments in immigration policy. They don’t study the nuances in the family reunion policies of different European countries when deciding where to head.
A small proportion of refugees in Europe come to the UK. Those that do come here do so because they have existing links with the UK. They may already have family here, or know of long-standing diaspora communities, or have linguistic and cultural links from the Commonwealth. Changing rules that nobody knows about will not change their decision-making.
The government is grasping at failed policies. This is concerning to say the least. There are ways to reduce the number of people risking their lives in the Channel: the “one in, one out” deal with France could be a step in the right direction if it’s implemented with the right safeguards and protections. The government should be focusing on getting this right while considering other legal routes, instead of policies that will only lead to more broken promises and push ever more exasperated voters closer towards Reform.
Reducing boat crossings is complex. It will take time. In the meantime, there are meaningful ways that the government can demonstrate competence and control immediately. The key is closing the hotels, which are the most visible symbol of a broken system. The Refugee Council has published a proposal showing how the government could end hotel use within a year by introducing a one-off scheme to give people from countries where they are almost certain to be recognised as refugees permission to stay for a limited period, subject to rigorous security checks.
Closing hotels and scaling up the deal with the French in a way that respects the rights of asylum seekers and treats them with dignity could have a significant impact. It could also restore public confidence. But taking away the right to be reunited with family members and erecting numerous barriers to settlement simply vilifies refugees. Under the government’s plans, a widowed refugee would be prevented from ever becoming a British citizen, for which settled status is a prerequisite, because it is almost certain that she will not have immediately found a job that would allow her to rent a home without receiving a top-up of housing benefit.
It doesn’t matter if that woman works two jobs, attends evening classes, studies for a degree and raises British children who become hard-working, tax-paying members of society. It will never be enough. She will never be considered permanent. She will never be able to become a proud British citizen. This is not decent or fair. It does not reward hard work or entrepreneurialism. It is punitive, and it smacks of a desperate attempt to counter Reform.
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The stories of refugees are integral to Britain. They are the stories of hardworking people who have contributed as doctors and nurses in the NHS, as care workers, as businessmen and women, and in many other occupations besides. Instead of celebrating their contributions, the government is pursuing an incoherent approach that will damage integration, make refugees feel unsafe and force children to grow up without their parents. It is certainly not the mark of a decent, compassionate country.
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