Mahmood’s immigration plans will lead to more homelessness

Today, 5 March, home secretary Shabana Mahmood delivered a speech on immigration to left-leaning think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research. She sought to argue for the ‘Labour case’ for gutting the UK asylum system.

In amongst the now-typical guff about public fear over ‘uncontrolled’ immigration, Mahmood also slipped in a new escalation of her party’s racist anti-immigrant turn. Namely, if an asylum seeker works illegally, or otherwise breaks the law, Labour plans to remove support payments and turn them out of their accommodation.

Because a sudden increase in now-homeless asylum seekers will definitely reduce public fear.

Removing support

In amongst her boasts about Labour’s new visa pause and degrading refugee protections to a temporary status, Mahmood explained her newest plans:

So this government will today introduce new, secondary legislation which will remove the duty to provide asylum support, replacing it with a power to do so.

Those who require it, and play by the rules, will rightly continue to receive asylum support. But those who do not will have their support removed.

The generosity of the British people will become conditional on those seeking asylum following the law, living by our rules, and not working illegally.

Taxpayer-funded accommodation will be reserved for those who have no right to work, and will otherwise be destitute.

For context, we might want to take a look at why those asylum seekers are working illegally. After all, the home secretary has been banging on about how generous the government is with its handouts.

According to charity the Refugee Council:

So, asylum seekers will now be faced with a choice between trying to survive well below the poverty line in government accommodation, or turning to illegal work and potentially being thrown out altogether.

It obviously won’t work

Accordingly, the Refugee Council pointed out that this would lead to an increase in rough sleeping. As such, the cost of the accommodation would simply be shifted to local councils and the health service. This seems obvious, given that if you take away people’s homes, they become homeless people.

The charity’s director of external affairs, Imran Hussain, suggested that making asylum decisions faster would be “far more effective” in slashing costs. Again, this makes sense, given that, as Mahmood highlighted:

Last year alone, £4 billion was spent on asylum accommodation.

If only something could be done to make temporary asylum accommodations into a short-term solution, ay?

However, Labour aren’t actually looking to fix the UK’s broken asylum system. Rather, they’re trying to appear ‘tough on immigration’ in a futile attempt to court the far-right. 

Mahmood had the gall to state that:

And when fearful, people turn inwards. Their vision of this country narrows. Their patriotism turns into something smaller, something darker; an ethno-nationalism emerges. The idea of a greater Britain gives way to the lure of a littler England. And other voices […] take hold.

As if her party isn’t blatantly capitulating to that nationalism by joining in far-right rhetoric.

Swinging for the Greens

Speaking of which, the home secretary also used her speech as an opportunity to take another swing at the Greens. Because, you know, Labour genuinely have no other plan after getting their ass handed to them in Gorton and Denton.

A Green Party spokesperson pointed out that Mahmood was:

deliberately misrepresenting Green Party Policy and reducing it to cheap soundbites.

Now, the government’s website removes inter-party attacks from its records of officials’ speeches. This leaves us with some terribly on-the-nose lines like:

Our asylum system is [political content redacted].

It also means that we have to rely on the BBC for the content of the redactions. Fortunately, the state broadcaster informs us that:

Mahmood will use the speech to step up her attacks on the Greens, accusing the party of wanting to create “a world without borders” and calling for “the most expensive and expansive migration policies anywhere in the world”.

Hope is dangerous

The faithful stenographer of the state also helpfully points out that the Green website says it will “treat all migrants as if they are citizens” and “dismantle the Home Office”. It conveniently left out the other half of Mahmood’s creative quote:

The Green Party wants to see a world without borders, until this happens the Green Party will implement a fair and humane system of managed immigration where people can move if they wish to do so.

Fuck them for wanting to work toward a better world, am I right?

Mahmood’s speech today showed two things quite clearly. First and foremost, there is no depth to which Labour won’t stoop in order to try to woo the right.

And second, Labour is clearly rattled. Gorton and Denton shook them to the core, and they have no answers. The coming months will see more of this rightward swerve, and more desperate attacks on the left-wing alternative. And, just like the rest of Labour’s new plans – they won’t work.

Featured image via the Canary