Labour's plan for illegal migrants explained — and is it working?

Times

a day ago

What you need to know
Sir Keir Starmer has secured improved commitments from France on tackling small boats but this has yet to translate into action on the ground
Labour believes a new bill going through the Lords would make a significant difference in its pledge to 'smash the gangs'
Despite rejecting the Rwanda plan as a 'gimmick', the prime minister's plan for return hubs has a similar aim, but is still at an early stage
Ministers are looking at tightening the rules around Article 8 of the ECHR, the right to family life, in asylum claims
When Sir Keir Starmer entered No 10 almost a year ago he pledged to make good on Labour's election promise to 'smash the gangs' and succeed, where the Conservatives had failed, in securing Britain's borders against illegal migration.
Yet so far this year almost 15,000 people have arrived in the UK in small boats — up 42 per cent on this time last year and a 95 per cent rise from the same point in 2023.
This week ministers sought to blame the weather and insisted that their policies would be effective in making good on Starmer's pledge. But what exactly is the government doing, and how successful has it been?
A new deal with France
From the British side perhaps the most critical element of the government's small boats strategy has been to leverage Starmer's relationship with President Macron to persuade the French to take a more proactive approach to preventing small boats setting sail from French waters in the first place.
At the start of the year the prime minister hosted Macron at Chequers, where the two leaders agreed to step up bilateral co-operation to prevent Channel crossings. This led to a formal agreement a month later under which the UK extended a £480 million deal to pay for policing French beaches in return for new measures to stem the flow of boats.
In particular, Paris agreed to change the law to allow police officers to apprehend vessels in shallow waters and restore the offence of an 'illegal stay' in France, which would allow the police to arrest migrants and smugglers before they attempted a crossing. There was also a commitment by France to speed up the construction of a detention centre in Dunkirk — paid for by the British — which had become bogged down in planning rows.
But, so far, these commitments have yet to materialise. The plan to enable police to intervene within 300m of the shore is yet to be implemented amid opposition from the officers themselves. There is also still slow progress on Dunkirk.
Verdict: Ministers believe improved co-operation with France is as close as it comes to a silver bullet to stem the flow of boats. But while Starmer has won important commitments from Paris, which were never given to the last government, these commitments have yet to materialise into action on the ground.
New legal powers to tackle smuggling gangs
In January ministers published a bill that they claimed would give police anti-terrorism-style powers to 'identify, disrupt and prevent' organised immigration crime.
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is going through the House of Lords, will make it illegal to handle items suspected of being used for organised immigration crime, such as boat parts and engines, with a maximum punishment of 14 years in prison.
Those found collecting information that could be used by people smugglers will face up to five years in jail. This would include researching routes or vessels online, or arranging departure points, dates and times.
The new offences will be accompanied by additional powers for Border Force officers, police and the National Crime Agency. They will be allowed to seize and search the mobile phones of anyone arriving in the UK illegally if they believe it will help an investigation into who organised the journey. The information gathered will also be available to be used in cases brought overseas.
Verdict: Senior policing figures believe the legislation will make a difference in their ability to dismantle the smuggling gangs — pointing out that the numbers involved are in the hundreds — and are vulnerable to a concerted attempt to dismantle their activities. However, as the bill is not yet law, at the moment it remains an aspiration.
Return hubs
In one of his first acts as prime minister Starmer scrapped the Conservative Party's plans to send migrants to Rwanda, branding it a waste of money and a 'gimmick'. However, he is now drawing up a policy that sounds remarkably similar — sending failed asylum seekers to 'return hubs' in the west Balkans.
There is one significant difference: the Tories planned to send all those who came to the UK on small boats abroad, while Labour's plan is limited to those who have exhausted all avenues of appeal. But the intent is similar: to deter people from making the crossings in the first place.
Verdict: The plans are at a very early stage, and it is not a given that countries will agree to host the return hubs. Albania has already ruled out doing so. There remain significant legal and political challenges to getting the scheme off the ground. There is broader support for the idea among some EU states and also in the UN. But even if the plans get off the ground, there is no guarantee it will work as a deterrent.
Deal with other countries
In December Starmer negotiated a deal with Germany, which agreed to tighten its laws to make it easier to prosecute those helping to smuggle migrants to the UK.
Ministers said this was important because facilitating people-smuggling to a third country was not technically illegal in Germany. However, the law has not yet been enacted, and ministers need to win approval from the new German government for it to be put into place.
Starmer has also recently announced a partnership with Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia to detect and deter illegal migration operations.
Verdict: The prime minister has made improving international co-operation to tackle smuggling gangs a big diplomatic priority for the government. But while the issue is a huge priority for the UK it is less important for other countries, and it remains to be seen how quickly and effectively diplomatic deals are converted into concrete action.
The asylum backlog and hotels
There are 8,000 more asylum seekers living in hotels than when Starmer pledged during the election campaign in June last year to 'end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds'. The reality of how difficult that is has become clear. This month the National Audit Office said the cost of asylum accommodation would be three times higher than previously estimated and more than 38,000 migrants are being housed in hotels, costing the Home Office an estimated £5.5 million a day — while a further 66,000 migrants are in dispersal accommodation such as large houses, bedsits and flats across different local authorities.
• Migrants will be put up in hotels for years yet, Treasury admits
The vast majority are awaiting asylum decisions, so speeding up that process is seen as key. The Home Office has had some success — it has been increased by 52 per cent and 24,000 people have been removed from the country. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, is also planning to change the law to introduce a mandatory 24-week legal deadline for all asylum appeals.
Verdict: If decision-making can genuinely be sped up it will help not only to bring down the hotel bill, but could act as a deterrent for those considering making the journey across the Channel.
Human rights laws
Ministers will bring in a new framework for judges to work to when deciding whether to allow migrants to make claims for asylum using the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
The most heavily used part of the ECHR, Article 8 — the right to family life — has been leveraged by murderers and paedophiles to stay in the country. Cooper revealed this week about 30 per cent of cases had been considered 'exceptional' by judges, and she wants to restrict that to a more narrow set of circumstances.
• Kemi Badenoch would override ECHR on asylum for illegal migrants
Verdict: Restricting the scope of Article 8 will save ministers from some embarrassing headlines but is unlikely to be enough on its own to fulfil the government's immigration pledges. An appetite to direct judges — and suggestions that the government could be open to reforming the ECHR — shows a willingness from Starmer and Cooper to step into an arena previously inhabited by the Tories and Reform UK. But as those on the right ramp up pressure for Britain to pull out of the convention altogether, the efforts may fall short.