Do immigration raids signal return of the 'hostile environment'?

Labour is trying a new tactic to fight off the political threat of Reform UK: being tough on immigration.

The Home Office is to launch "a fresh wave of immigration raids for illegal working" and highlight "record numbers" of deportations, said The Guardian. More than 16,400 "failed asylum seekers, irregular immigrants and foreign criminals" have been deported since the election.

The government believes a strong record on limiting migration numbers "could help retain Labour voters tempted by Nigel Farage’s party" but the move is "fuelling disquiet" among some Labour MPs, who fear a return to the Theresa May-era "hostile environment", with its controversial "Go Home" billboards.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

What did the commentators say?

It only takes a quick look at the polls to see why "a big tactical rethink" is underway in Downing Street, said The Observer. Starmer told his cabinet ministers this week that they had to be the "'disrupters if you don't want to be disrupted'. He meant disrupted by Reform UK."

Having concluded that "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em", Starmer and his government appear to be "brazenly using the tactics" of Farage's "buddy", President Donald Trump, to attack the Reform leader. A new National Crime Agency video reportedly shows "staff packing bags at a migrant removal centre", followed by a shackled returnee "escorted by seven staff" on to a charter jet, said Sky News.

If this "aggressive campaigning all sounds very Trumpian, that's because it is". Last week the prime minister adapted Trump's "drill, baby, drill" mantra to "build, baby, build" as he hit out at "blockers" thwarting Labour's growth agenda. Now, like Trump, he has "propelled immigration to the top of his agenda".

Not all Downing Street sources believe that a tougher immigration message is the "silver bullet that will see off Reform", said the BBC. What the government needs to do is "deliver on its promises" and "on the cost of living and on health care in particular" in order to fend off the threat from rival parties.

Former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott warned that it would be a "big mistake" for Labour to present itself as "Reform-lite". "All you do is give legitimacy to their agenda and encourage people to vote for the real thing," she told The Guardian. Such a move would "alienate Labour voters in our core seats", she said.

What next?

The immigration publicity blitz comes as the government's Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is due to be debated in the House of Commons at its second reading stage. The bill aims to introduce a raft of new offences and counterterror-style powers to crack down on people-smugglers bringing migrants across the English Channel. It is expected to come into force this year.