Sir Keir Starmer told delegates at today’s border security summit that the UK has not taken a tough enough approach to illegal migration for too long.
In fact, he said, it had been a “soft touch” both internationally and at home.
“Smashing the gangs” once and for all, he told the conference in central London, will require global efforts to share intelligence and collaborate between law enforcement agencies.
Politics latest: UK has been ‘soft touch on migration’, says Starmer
He also talked about action at home, where he says loopholes will be closed to prevent people from working illegally and large-scale returns of people not being allowed to be in the UK.
But can he succeed in tackling illegal migration, which has been the undoing of previous Conservative governments, where others have failed?
As his critics have been quick to point out, the number of arrivals on small boats in the Channel is at a record of more than 6,000 so far this year, nine months since Labour took office.
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‘Illegal migration makes me angry’
Labour’s argument has long been that agreements with other countries are a key part of the challenge.
Interior ministers happy to spend the day discussing this at Lancaster House came from the countries migrants leave – such as Albania, Vietnam and Iraq; where they transit including the western Balkans and the Middle East, and their destinations in Western Europe, and the US.
Also present were the tech companies Meta, X and TikTok, where smugglers advertise their services and communicate with those paying for them. Thousands of ads have been taken down but it’s whack-a-mole as more pop up.
It’s also a reminder that illegal migration is constantly mutating. The tactics that worked five or 10 years ago, when social media was not a major feature, need to change.
One delegate at the summit who has been working on these issues for years told me in the sidelines “it’s like an octopus with many tentacles; you can’t grip one alone”.
Keir Starmer at the at the Organised Immigration Crime Summit.
Pic: PA
But the prime minister knows that the public wants him to get a grip on the impact illegal migration is having on communities.
Sir Keir said this was a question of “fairness” – to people struggling for a school place or NHS appointment – to manage immigration, rather than allow gangs to decide who gets to stay.
But while he said returns are at a record high of 24,000 people since the general election, many are out of his control when it comes to the numbers coming in.
Ministers are clearly pinning their hopes on a decision made by the French cabinet to allow authorities to intercept boats which have left the Calais coast – a change in policy which Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said would make a real difference from later this summer. Many voters might feel they’ve heard this sort of thing before.
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Migration is rising up the political agenda with the local elections in just over a month’s time, in which the anti-immigration Reform UK party is hoping to capitalise.
The latest YouGov survey reports that 70% of the British public think immigration rates over the last 10 years have been too high – a trend similar in France, Spain and Germany.
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Interestingly, the number of British people who believe immigration has been “mostly bad for the country” has topped 40% this year – the highest since 2019.
Sir Keir has promised his multi-pronged approach to really deliver where his predecessors have failed.
Voters will not judge that on a summit like today’s – but on numbers.
