Labour shamefully boasts about its increased deportations
JVL Introduction
Labour is boasting of its “achievements” at deporting more asylum seekers than the Tories. “Between 5 July 2024 and 31 January 2025, a total of 18,987 returns were recorded – an increase of 24%, the Home Office said. Removals of foreign national offenders were up by 21% and illegal working raids up by 38% compared with the same period 12 months previously.”
This is no surprise, their main criticism of the Rwanda scheme and the Tory attitude to the “small boats crisis” was that they were inefficient and that Labour would be more effective. Not only have they ramped up raids and deportations but they are sharing videos of people being loaded onto planes and taking out ads boasting that “Labour hits 5 year high in migrant removals”
The forthcoming “border security, asylum and immigration bill” aims to clamp down on the people smugglers’ but, so far at least, offers no safe routes for people fleeing persecution.
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This article was originally published by The Guardian on Mon 10 Feb 2025. Read the original here.
Deportation footage ‘enables mainstreaming of racism’, Clive Lewis says
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Today Starmer annouced he was closing down the option that had allowed Gazan refugees to come to Britain under a scheme invented for Ukrainians – so white Europeans only then! This follows on the heels of Wes Streetins anti-whiteness gibberish. The racism of neoliberal entryists in not even coded any more. “PM pledges to close loophole that let Gazans settle in UK” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdx0yn6v7lo
I am reminded of Woody Guthrie’s song “Deportees”. Sadly, this current government would see the song as the celebration of a successful policy.
As both Lewis and Abbott make plain in this article, this is pandering to the right wing – and especially Reform, who are seeking to capitalise on this issue. Rather, they should try to kill the issue by presenting our populace with the simple facts. The average voter just lumps all “immigrants” together, not drawing distinction between who is legal, who is not – and the respective costs etc to the economy. The vast majority of immigrants are perfectly legal. Many are here for work – so pay all the proper taxes etc, they are a bonus. Many are here for education. Foreign students pay the university far more than their British counterparts so are a positive boon, plus they help Britain extend “soft power” into the world. That actually covers the vast majority of immigrants. There are some who are marrying a British citizen (my daughter in law is one of these). Of the remainder, a good amount are refugees fleeing danger – who we are obliged to take in under international law, and which it is humane to do so. All of those people, almost everyone agrees, are perfectly legitimate and almost no one resents them settling here. That leaves “illegal” immigrants which is a very small number indeed. Far from being “swamped” we don’t have a high number at all. The government should explain this calmly and responsibly whilst ensuring there are robust systems in place to deal with illegal immigration. But this “race to the bottom” that Labour is currently in will only result in giving votes to Reform. In short, it is unimaginative, vindictive and dumb.