Is Keir Starmer at risk of being ensnared by the issue of small boats?
In a bid to address the issue of migrant crossings across the English Channel, Keir Starmer's government has implemented a "one-in, one-out" pilot scheme under a recent UK-France treaty. This plan aims to control illegal crossings and disrupt human smuggling gangs.
Under this scheme, any adult migrant arriving in the UK by small boat can be detained immediately and returned to France. In return, an equal number of migrants may enter the UK legally through new routes, provided they have no previous illegal crossing attempts and pass full eligibility checks.
The government has also signed several agreements with other countries to break up gangs of people-smugglers facilitating the crossings. The focus, according to the government, is on illegal migration to stop the crossings altogether.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to end "years of uncontrolled migration" and take back control of the UK's borders. In a recent tweet, he stated, "If you come to this country illegally, you will face detention and return. If you come to this country and commit a crime, we will deport you as soon as possible."
However, the prime minister has expressed regret over some of his language regarding migration. Despite this, he has been toughening up his language in response to the Reform party's campaigning on the issue of migrants crossing the Channel.
In the past week alone, Starmer has tweeted more than 10 times about the issue. Yet, he has avoided mentioning firm numbers on how many migrants his crackdown may stop.
The "one-in, one-out" approach is a key step in Starmer's stated goal to "smash the gangs" behind the crossings by fixing the asylum system and sending a clear message of return for unauthorized arrivals.
It's important to note that migration did not feature as one of Starmer's five missions for "change" at the general election. After the local elections in May, he made a speech warning about the risk of becoming an "island of strangers" without fair immigration rules in a diverse nation.
The UK government has announced a "one in, one out" deal with France to send people back across the channel. However, some people have already been detained as part of the UK's migrant returns, though the exact timing is unknown.
Net migration was down at 431,000 in 2024, which the OCED says is comparable to other high-income countries. It's worth mentioning that illegal or irregular migration is a relatively small proportion of total migration.
Baroness Jacqui Smith has criticized the previous government for not taking responsibility to improve the asylum system. Joe Twyman, of the pollsters Deltapoll, has stated that Labour is falling into the same trap as the Conservatives by giving significant prominence to the issue of immigration.
Kemi Badenoch has suggested asylum seekers could be housed in 'Nightingale' camps. Nigel Farage's Reform party has been campaigning on the issue of migrants crossing the Channel.
As of now, Keir Starmer's government's "one-in, one-out" scheme is a developing strategy in the ongoing efforts to control migrant crossings across the English Channel.
- The "one-in, one-out" scheme, a key part of Keir Starmer's strategy, aims to control migrant crossings across the English Channel by returning adult migrants arriving in the UK by small boat to France, while allowing a similar number of migrants to enter the UK legally if they pass eligibility checks.
- Amidst the ongoing politics of policy-and-legislation and general-news, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to end years of uncontrolled migration and has been toughening his language in response to the Reform party's campaigning on the issue of migrants crossing the Channel, promising detention and return for unauthorized arrivals as part of his plan to "smash the gangs" behind the crossings.
