By CBC
Publication Date: 2025-11-20 09:00:00
Strict new asylum rules proposed by Britain’s Labor government have sparked debate not only in Britain but also within the ruling party, as critics accuse leaders of adopting a far-right mantle to counter a surge in the polls by the anti-immigration populist Reform UK party.
Ahead of presenting the proposals at Westminster on Monday, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood he anticipated them in a series of interviews where he said the UK has become a “golden ticket” for would-be refugees and that the immigration debate is “tearing the country apart”.
The solution, she later told Parliament, is to emulate Denmark and its strict deterrence policies which she says have been responsible for the lowest number of asylum applications there in 40 years.
“If we fail to address this, it will draw more people down a path that begins with anger and ends with hate,” he said in a nod to recent clashes between protesters angry about asylum seekers housed in their communities and counterprotesters who would protect them.
Under the government’s new proposals, people granted asylum would no longer be entitled to automatic state support.
Its status would be temporary and would be reevaluated every two and a half years. And they would only be eligible for permanent residency after 20 years, compared to five now.
Refugees could also have assets confiscated to cover government costs.
There was furore earlier this week when Home Secretary Alex Norris told broadcasters that this could include jewellery, although he ruled out wedding rings or items of sentimental value.
In his presentation to Parliament, Mahmoud said: “We will require people to contribute to the cost of their asylum support where they have some assets or income, but not enough to support themselves independently.”
Government accused of scapegoating immigrants
There was immediate backlash from critics, including Labor MPs who accused the government of “performative cruelty” and scapegoating migrants for its political points.
“The rhetoric around these reforms fuels the same culture of division that sees racism and abuse grow in our communities,” Labor MP Tony Vaughan said in a social media post.
“The Denmark-style policies reported in recent days are dystopian,” said MP Nadia Whittome, responding to Mahmood in Parliament and accusing the government of “destroying the rights and protections of people who have endured unimaginable trauma.”
“How can we adopt such obviously cruel policies? Is the Home Secretary proud that the government has collapsed to such an extent that Tommy Robinson is now praising it?”
Robinson is a far-right activist accused of racism and co-founder of the now-defunct English Defense League who has reportedly expressed support for the proposals.
Refugee charities say the proposals will make it harder for those granted asylum to gain acceptance or integrate into local communities.
“They will make it much harder for people to settle in their new communities,” said Nick Beales, campaign manager for the Essex and London Refugee and Migrant Forum.
“And it will make it much more difficult for people to settle in their new communities and will definitely damage social cohesion by making it very clear to them that the government of the day does not welcome them here.”
The Essex town of Epping, north of London, was the scene of heated demonstrations over the summer outside a hotel housing migrants after one of its residents was accused of sexual assault.
A look back at Brexit
According to the latest Ipsos surveyImmigration has once again risen to the top of Britons’ list of concerns, overtaking the economy and a struggling National Health Service.
“I think asylum seekers come here because they know they will be given accommodation, money, you know, a good life without having to work for it,” Jannie Fenwick, a personal assistant, told Reuters earlier this week.
The current focus on immigration reflects the place it occupied in the UK public consciousness about a decade ago.
The UK government has proposed a major overhaul of its asylum rules, making it easier to deport people and quadrupling the time needed to become a permanent resident.
“The last time (concern about immigration) was this high for several months was actually in the run-up to Brexit and in the run-up to the Brexit vote in 2015 and early 2016,” said Peter Walsh, senior researcher at Oxford University’s Migration Observatory.
Back then, “Take back control” was one of the slogans used by the pro-Brexit camp, many of whom wanted Britain to leave the European Union because they were unhappy with shared border policies that they said were not working.
That slogan has been replaced in recent years by “Stop the Boats,” a mantra and election promise introduced to the United Kingdom by former Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the final days of his premiership in 2023.
“A very divisive issue”
The phrase is often seen on signs that bounce over crowds at anti-immigration rallies.
The ships in question are those used by smugglers to transport migrants across the Channel from France to England on dangerous journeys.
“People will disagree about the use of the word ‘crisis’, but there is no doubt that small boat crossings are a very divisive issue and are probably the biggest part of the explanation for why immigration is really rising to the top of the UK political agenda,” Walsh said.
“Successive UK governments have really focused on the idea of screening as a central element of immigration policy,” he said.
“And this is very clear evidence of a lack of control by definition. These are unauthorized arrivals, and (there is) a kind of spectacle in it.”
Around 40,000 asylum seekers arrived in the UK this way in the year ending June, according to UK government statistics.
That compares with about the same number of people seeking asylum after arriving on study, work or visitor visas.
Farage supports and leads reform in the United Kingdom
Typical immigration figures run into the hundreds of thousands.
Adding to the feverish nature of the debate – and the sense of division – is the fact that Reform UK is led by Nigel Farage, the same man who helped lead Britain out of the European Union as leader of the pro-Brexit United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).
That is the party whose voters some analysts say Labor is trying to please by adopting stricter asylum laws.
There are only five Reform MPs to 405 Labor MPs, but Reform enjoys a substantial lead in opinion polls, while Keir Starmer’s Labor government has had a difficult 16 months in power.
“You wonder if the Labor government is really aiming to take the wind out of the Reform Party,” Walsh said. “That’s speculative, but perhaps not an unreasonable inference.”
Walsh says Denmark’s stricter asylum laws helped Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, a Social Democrat in power since 2019, fend off challenges from the far-right Danish People’s Party.
But many Labor supporters (and several MPs) say the party risks alienating its base with these new measures.
“In response to a far-right challenge, this government proposes keeping victims of torture or persecution in perpetual limbo by offering them only temporary sanctuary,” MP Stella Creasy wrote in an editorial for The Guardian newspaper earlier this week.
Farage’s reaction, meanwhile, was to joke that the Home Secretary’s proposals made it look like he was auditioning to join Reform.