Here we go again. The Labour government is briefing that it might ban people who cross the Channel illegally from claiming asylum in the United Kingdom. It sounds tough. It is meant to sound tough. But look past the headline and the truth is the same as it always is: the boats keep coming, and Labour keeps talking.
Tough Talk, Open Borders
A government serious about stopping illegal crossings does not need to float ideas to a friendly newspaper. It acts. Instead we get yet another trail, yet another announcement of an announcement, while the dinghies launch from the French coast day after day. You cannot fix a border with a press release.
The British people have heard every variation of this promise. They were told the crossings would be smashed. They were told the gangs would be broken up. They watch the numbers and they draw their own conclusions, because the numbers do not lie even when the politicians do.
A Returns Deal That Returned Almost No One
Take Labour's flagship "one in, one out" returns pilot with France, which ran until 11 June — just days ago. Under that deal, the United Kingdom returned a grand total of 377 people to France, while accepting 380 in exchange. Read that again. We sent back 377 and took in 380. That is not border control. That is a turnstile.
While that deal limped along, tens of thousands continued to arrive. A scheme that removes a few hundred people over many months, against a backdrop of tens of thousands of crossings, is not a deterrent. The smuggling gangs know it. That is why they are still in business.
The Numbers Do Not Lie
Around 36,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats in the year to the end of May. Roughly three quarters were adult men. These crossings now account for around 90 percent of all detected illegal arrivals. A modest dip on the previous year is no cause for celebration when the baseline is a national disgrace.
Every illegal crossing undermines the rule of law and insults every person who came to this country the right way. It is not compassionate to run a system that rewards the people-smugglers and punishes the patient. It is reckless.
What Reform UK Would Do
Reform UK would stop the boats by removing the incentive to make the journey. Anyone arriving illegally would be detained and removed, with no automatic right to claim asylum after breaking in. We would leave any international arrangement that prevents us from controlling our own borders, because a country that cannot decide who enters it is not in charge of its own future.
Labour will keep briefing tough lines to the papers. Reform UK would actually secure the border. That is the difference between talking and governing.