By @BBCNewsround
Publication Date: 2025-11-18 17:08:00
Mahmood says he hopes the new measures will deter migrants from making the dangerous English Channel crossing from France to the UK in small boats.
“If we fail to address this crisis, we will draw more people down a path that begins with anger and ends in hate,” Ms Mahmood said, adding: “If we don’t win this debate… we will lose public support for having an asylum system.”
Some Labor MPs have expressed support for the plans, saying the Home Secretary was “going down the right path” and that the system had to be fair “otherwise it would collapse”.
However, not all of its parliamentarians feel the same. So far, around 20 Labor MPs have criticized the plans, calling them “morally wrong” and “cruel”.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, who is leading the opposition to the government, said the proposals were “positive” small steps and urged Mahmood to work with his party and win its support.
The Scottish Government has said it is “deeply concerned” about the plans and charities supporting asylum seekers have criticized them.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, urged the government to reconsider the situation, warning that the plans “will not deter” crossings and that hard-working refugees should be able to build “safe and stable lives”.
UK reform leader Nigel Farage praised Mahmood’s “strong language” but said he had “serious doubts” his plans would survive objections from Labor MPs or human rights laws.
The Liberal Democrats said they had “concerns” with some parts of the plans, and their spokesman Max Wilkinson said the government should “focus on processing applications quickly, getting it right first time and quickly deporting people who have no right to be here”.
Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, told the BBC the plans were “extreme” and “inhumane” and said: “All Labor MPs must look to their conscience.”
