The Labour Party is in power in the UK, after 14 years of Conservative rule that stripped the country of its public services while scapegoating migrants for falling living standards. For many it’s a reason to hope that things will now get better.
Those of us interested in migrants’ rights are hardly immune to this temptation. Compared to the obsessive cruelty shown by the Tory governments of the past few years, we might believe a Labour government would show more compassion and sensibility in this area.
But the initial signs are mixed. On the one hand, Keir Starmer has promised to scrap the Rwanda plan and reduce the asylum backlog that has trapped over 80,000 people in limbo. On the other, the government has pledged to establish a new ‘counter terrorism-style’ Border Security Command for coordinating cross-border policing; reintroduce fast-track deportations supported by ‘a new returns and enforcement unit’; and seek new return agreements with third countries to facilitate that work.
