Would a Labour government stop the small boats crisis?
Keir Starmer proposes working with EU to 'smash' trafficking gangs but commits to halting Rwanda deportation scheme
Keir Starmer has pledged to tackle the small boats crisis by cooperating with Europol on a security agreement, provoking Conservative ministers to accuse him of undermining Brexit.
In an opinion article for The Sun, the Labour leader outlined the party's plans to tackle the rising numbers of asylum seekers arriving via dangerous Channel crossings.
He proposed establishing a new cross-border police force with European crime agency Europol to smash the "evil criminal gangs making a mockery of us all". He also described the threat of people smugglers as "on the same footing" as climate change, terrorism and hostile foreign powers, in terms of the danger they pose to national security.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
But even as Starmer arrived in The Hague to discuss a new security agreement with Europol today, Conservative ministers "pounced" on his suggestion that he would take in a quota of migrants from the EU as part of a "quid pro quo" returns agreements with Brussels, said The Times. They are "already out of the traps, accusing Starmer of wanting to give up control of immigration policy to the EU".
"He'll let Brussels decide who comes to the UK", posted Home Secretary Suella Braverman on X (formerly Twitter). "He'll agree to make Britain the dumping ground for many of the millions of illegal migrants that Europe doesn't want. And none of this will stop the boats."
What did the papers say?
The Labour leader is "attempting to move on to Tory turf by setting out an immigration policy in which he promises to treat people smugglers like terrorists and 'smash the gangs'", said The Times' Whitehall editor Chris Smyth.
However, Braverman's attack "raises questions over the government's policy towards pursuing a new EU returns deal", said Smyth. In August, Downing Street said the prime minister "remained open" to such an agreement.
Starmer's "small boats blitz" is "a move to quash any Tory attempts to use the small boats issue as an issue against Labour in the election", said The Guardian's Andrew Sparrow.
Sunak made "stopping the boats" one of his five priorities this year. But the government has "failed to implement its Rwanda policy" to deport asylum seekers, small boat crossings continue at record-high levels and the plan to house migrants on the Bibby Stockholm barge "collapsed when it had to be evacuated for health issues". Labour is "already ahead as the party seen as best able to tackle migration".
In policy terms, Labour's plan is "limited", said Sparrow, and not a radical departure from its five-point plan to reduce Channel crossings, which it revealed in August. "But he [Starmer] is being a bit more explicit about something that was always implicit", that under Labour, the UK would agree to take in some asylum seekers "as part of a returns agreement with the EU that would allow small boat migrants to be returned". This was "always the obvious implication", but until now Starmer has been "reluctant to say so". But in rhetorical terms, this is a "major escalation".
Starmer insisted on ITV's "Good Morning Britain" programme that a call for closer cooperation with the EU on small boats did not mean he was weakening his stance on Brexit or freedom of movement.
But he was "unable to say" how many asylum seekers the UK could take from the rest of Europe, noted The Daily Telegraph. When asked, "he would not be drawn" on a number, said The Independent.
"Not content with voting against every one of our measures to stop the boats, Keir Starmer is now opening the door to taking over 100,000 illegal migrants from the safety of the EU," Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, told The Sun.
Sunak said Starmer's plans "seem to amount to saying that we might one day accept 100,000 EU migrants every year. That doesn't seem like a credible plan to me to stop the boats."
What next?
If the government succeeds in overcoming legal challenges and getting the first flights to Rwanda under way, "ministers will be able to attribute any reduction in the number of small boats to that policy", said The Times. But Labour has "unequivocally committed to reversing the scheme and will be hoping against hope that its judgement that it will be a failure is correct".
The risk, said The Times, is putting increased cooperation with Europe "at the heart of Labour's alternative" to the Rwanda scheme. According to Matt Dathan, The Times' home affairs editor, the European Commission is so far "refusing to comment on whether it would be open to Labour's plans to negotiate a new migrant returns deal". That is a departure, since the paper reported in August that the EU had rejected the Conservatives' attempt to create a similar agreement.
But, said The Guardian's Sparrow, Starmer is sounding "a lot, lot tougher on small boats than he has before". This goes down well with people who are concerned about migration.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.
-
Ruska: experience Finland's magnificent autumn foliage
The Week Recommends The 'fleeting' season lasts just three weeks
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Trump assassination attempt: do former presidents need more protection?
Today's Big Question Secret Service director says 'paradigm shift' needed after second Trump attack sparks calls for more resources
By The Week UK Published
-
'The anger that defines and threatens Trump'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why is Labour looking to Italy on migration?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer wants to learn lessons from Giorgia Meloni, but not everyone is impressed with the Albania agreement
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Keir Starmer defends winter fuel cut
Speed Read PM says government must 'fix the foundations' despite criticism
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
It does happen here
Opinion Our long history of rounding people up and kicking them out
By Susan Caskie Published
-
'It's something urban planners think could work in the United States'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
For God and country: is religion in politics making a comeback?
Talking Point There are many MPs of faith in the new Labour government despite it being the most openly secular House of Commons in history
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
King's Speech: is Keir Starmer being too cautious?
Today's Big Question The Labour Party set out its plans for its first year in government
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published