Comparing Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak’s plans to tackle illegal migration
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to “smash the gangs” that enable dangerous Channel crossings, as he prepares to go head-to-head with the Conservatives’ flagship immigration policy in the run up to the next general election.
The Labour leader said his party would treat people-smugglers like terrorists if he becomes prime minister, by freezing their assets and placing restrictions on their movement.
Labour’s immigration clampdown would also hinge on closer links with the European Union, in a major departure from the Conservatives’ more isolationist approach to curbing record Channel crossings.
Writing in The Sun ahead of a trip to the Europol headquarters in the Hague, Sir Keir said he wanted to “lead the continent in smashing the gangs”.
The opposition leader pledged to “discuss” a potential migrant quota with the EU if he wins the next general election, in a move that would significantly expand the UK’s cooperation with the bloc on immigration.
The EU is working on a new returns agreement that would mean each member state take a minimum annual quota of 30,000 migrants, or pay €20,000 for each person they do not accept.
Sir Keir also pledged to scrap the Government’s flagship policy of sending migrants to Rwanda, describing it as inhumane and poor value for money.
The Government has already spent £140m on the plans, despite no planes yet taking off as the policy remains mired by legal challenges.
It forms part of Rishi Sunak’s toughened approach to immigration, which will effectively bar everyone who crosses the Channel in a small boat from claiming asylum under the Illegal Migration Act.
The Prime Minister has promised to “stop the boats”, making it one of his five key pledges to achieve bef0ore the next general election.
However, Sir Keir said the approach is “unsustainable”, as he promised that migrants would be allowed to seek asylum under Labour if their claims are legitimate.
“Simply saying to people you can’t be processed is an unsustainable system. And you can see what’s happening,” he said in an interview with The Times.
“Hotels everywhere, absolutely full of individuals who haven’t had their claim processed. We have to process the claims. Those who aren’t entitled to be here should be returned and returned quickly.”
The Labour leader said his party would likely continue to accommodate migrants on barges, but only during an initial bridging period if the Tories are forced out from office.
“Ideally we wouldn’t but I accept that we’re likely to inherit a situation where we might have to continue that sort of accommodation until we’re able to get a grip of the mess that has been left to us,” he said.
