When there are no safe routes, people will make dangerous journeys.

The government knows this.  They know the Migration Bill they have announced is unworkable, most likely illegal and demonises some of the most vulnerable people fleeing torture, war, or oppression.

To do this at any time is shameful.  To do it in a climate of increasing anti-migrant hostility, with attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers and a growth in far-right activity, is dangerous.

I’ve had so many emails from constituents appalled at this government’s treatment of refugees, their inflammatory language, and their lack of compassion.  I am proud that for many years, Haringey has opened its doors to people from around the world and provided a warm welcome and practical support.  Our diverse community is our strength.

The truth is our asylum system is broken because the Conservatives broke it.

160,000 people are waiting for an asylum decision – with 90,000 waiting more than six months at huge cost to their mental health, their family life, and the taxpayer.  When Labour left office in 2010, that number was just 3,417.  Tory bureaucracy has ground the system to a halt and, less than a year since their last failed Bill, barely 2% of all asylum claims made in 2022 have even been decided yet. Where was the plan to address this?

Where was the action against the criminal gangs who prey on vulnerable refugees and drive dangerous boat crossings?  Last year, there were just 4 prosecutions for people-smuggling a month, while 46,000 people crossed the channel.

Crucially, where were the safe and legal routes, including family reunion schemes, so people don’t feel they need to risk everything on a small boat?

Refugees deserve an asylum system that works, that is compassionate, and that is fair.  This isn’t it.

The proposals announced yesterday are little more than a desperate attempt by a tired Government to demonise the most vulnerable and distract from the real challenges Britain faces, from a broken NHS, ever-rising cost of living, and an economy starved of investment and confidence after the chaos of Tory rule.  Britain deserves better.

Catherine West MP
Labour MP for Hornsey & Wood Green

When the Illegal Migration Bill came back to Parliament for its Second Reading on Monday 13 March, I challenged the Home Secretary on what it would mean for vulnerable children.  I am deeply concerned that the Bill will allow the Government to remove unaccompanied asylum-seeking children even if the only family that they have are here in the UK.

The Home Secretary didn’t even mention children in her reply