Sixteen months ago everything looked perfect for him. Labor was returning to power after 15 years, having secured the third best electoral performance in its history. He presented himself as a model of a realist politician who – in contrast to his radical predecessor Jeremy Corbyn – would find the right balance between Euro-Atlantic realism, pro-business economic policy and the welfare state.
And yet, just months before general elections in Scotland and Wales, and with the damage to his image growing, the British prime minister is making a controversial change of strategy on immigration that risks causing further divisions within the ruling party.
Initiatives
The latest episode of the already troubled Starmer administration is the new package of measures for , which tightens the asylum system even more. According to an official Home Office document, asylum seekers will have to wait 20 years before applying for a permanent residence permit, while the duration of asylum will now be reduced from 5 years to 2.5 years, after which applicants will be subject to continuous review. It is essentially a variant of the loan model (which the aforementioned document alludes to), where a temporary residence permit is given for two years, in the logic of the gradual integration of immigrants with the addition of the – Trump inspired – imposition of visa bans in three African countries.
“Required cruelty” and asylum
“We have become a destination of choice in Europe, visible to every smuggler and illegal immigrant around the world,” Interior Minister Shabana Mahmoud even says in a note accompanying the relevant document, adding that “the British government has been reluctant in the past to show the required toughness.” As for Starmer, he says in his own commentary that “a reformed asylum system that limits inflows is capable of bringing confidence to a dangerous world.”
The data on immigration
Do the data justify the tightening of immigration policy? It is worth noting that according to the Home Office, almost 40,000 people were recorded crossing the English Channel in small boats this year, an increase of 38% compared to last year. And asylum applications in the UK reached 109,343 in the year to March this year, up 17% on the previous year.
The pressure of the Far Right
But there is also the political situation. On the one hand, this is related to the rise of the anti-immigration, far-right ReformUK, as Nigel Farage’s party is consistently ahead of second-placed Labor in the polls, having managed to put immigration at the center of the political debate and largely define the agenda. On the other hand, it concerns the internal balance of power in the Labor Party, within which Starmer faces intense challenge, as was evident from the party’s last conference, where the mayor of Manchester and former minister, Andy Burnham appeared to project himself as the vanguard of a strong pole of intra-party contention.
Pressure from the left inner party wing
As expected, the statement provoked a sharp reaction from MPs on the left wing of the historic labor party. MP Tony Vaughan stressed that the government’s plans are wrong and will lead to an increase in incidents of racist violence in Britain. Corbyn’s “shadow” Chancellor of the Exchequer, John McDonnell, pointed out that Vaughan echoes the sentiment of many in the caucus. But even the moderate MP Stella Creasy did not hesitate to call the new immigration policy “inhumane” in her article in the Guardian.
Internal party turmoil
Not many days have passed since the last internal party turmoil. This was prompted by mainstream media rumours, citing sources close to the prime minister, that the health secretary, Wes Streeting, was leading a party initiative aimed at ousting the former. Streeting categorically denied the relevant claim in an interview with the BBC, while calling on Starmer to proceed with the removal of those responsible for the leaks. At the same time, he did not hesitate to speak of a “toxic culture” in the prime minister’s office.
However, the experienced journalist and for a time (2000-2003) the press representative of the Blair government, Alastair Campbell, launched “fire” against Downing Street, speaking of “childish games”.
And all this, while the “thorn” of management is added to the previous ones, after the scandal of the falsification of Donald Trump’s statements in the context of his earlier speech, which caused the resignation of two high-ranking executives of the state television.
