Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to defy demands by Labour MPs to move to the left as she introduces new legislation to overhaul Britain’s asylum system in an attempt to blunt the appeal of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
The home secretary, who is set to outline plans next week, will say the government must cut migration or risk opening the door to the right who would divide communities with the kind of anti-immigration raids seen in the US.
The plan comes after Labour came a humiliating third in the Gorton and Denton by-election, with the Greens winning the seat and Reform coming second.
The result has sparked new questions over Keir Starmer’s future as prime minister, but also opened up a civil war for the heart of the party, with many Labour MPs and trade union leaders lambasting the way it has become “Reform-lite”.
But Ms Mahmood’s move follows Mr Farage and his home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf announcing draconian immigration plans at a press conference in Dover last week, where they vowed to introduce mass deportations, set up a British version of Donald Trump’s ICE immigration force, and cancel welfare for all foreign nationals among a series of extreme measures.
Ms Mahmood, who is facing the prospect of a backbench revolt over the plans, will argue next week that migration reform is consistent with Labour values.
According to a government source, she is expected to say Britain will always provide sanctuary to people genuinely fleeing war and danger, but the generosity of the asylum system is attracting people from across the world, funding human traffickers and encouraging false asylum claims.
A minister has suggested that she will also open up more safe and legal routes abroad for genuine asylum seekers to come to the UK.
But her move will deepen the rifts in the Labour Party, which have opened up in the wake of the by-election, with Sir Keir now facing the prospect of being ousted as prime minister after the local and devolved elections in May.
One minister, who supports Ms Mahmood’s plans, told The Independent: "My fear is we will now lurch to the left because we will wrongly believe that we need to stop our supporters switching to the Greens and because the PM will be persuaded it is the only way to save his job. That route only leads to disaster."
However, a series of Labour MPs have insisted the Green insurgency on the left means the party needs to “return to Labour values.”
York Central MP Rachael Maskell, who led the welfare rebellion, said: “Voters clearly did not have sufficient confidence in Labour yesterday, so it cannot be business as usual. As many of us have been saying from the heart of the Labour Party, people need to have a clear vision of how Labour will positively transform their lives.”
Leeds MP Richard Burgon, who chairs the Socialist Campaign Group, added: “If Labour is to be the ‘Stop Reform’ party, then the leadership must stop treating progressive voters with contempt - and start appealing to them.”
Norwich South MP Clive Lewis said: “This government has burned its base, alienated its core vote, sidelined its activists and stuck two fingers up to the very people we came into politics to represent. And we’re surprised voters are walking away?”
Meanwhile, opponents latched on to the plans in a bid to capitalise on the elections on May 7.
SNP MP Pete Wishart said: “Looks like Labour has learned absolutely nothing from their electoral hammering yesterday. Chasing Reform votes by trying to emulate their sickening attacks on immigrants will only confirm their continuing decline. The very definition of 'cloth-eared'.”
Last week, the home secretary visited Denmark, which has one of the toughest asylum and immigration systems in Europe.
Denmark’s Social Democrat-led government has reduced the number of asylum applications to the lowest number in 40 years and removed 95 per cent of rejected asylum seekers.
Ms Mahmood has made little secret of her admiration for the approach.
Denmark has sought to deter new arrivals by largely moving from a permanent to a temporary stay model, where most asylum seekers are sent back to their home country once they are deemed safe.
The home secretary believes that unless Britain follows a similar approach, the far right will gain momentum, bringing “havoc and chaos” to Britain’s streets.
Touring the Danish asylum system earlier this week, Ms Mahmood was taken to a reception centre on the outskirts of Copenhagen, where asylum seekers are taken by police to stay on a short-term basis.
The migrants’ biometrics are taken, and they are given health checks. The home secretary was then taken to a returns centre where migrants go before being sent back to their country of origin.
The centres, operated by the Danish Red Cross, included communal canteens and outdoor exercise machines.
She was shown accommodation which included plain rooms furnished with small single beds or bunk beds and lockers.
Denmark’s tough stance on asylum seekers began in the mid 2010s when the hard-right Danish People’s Party began to rise in the polls.
Facing a collapse of working-class support for her party, Mette Frederiksen – now the prime minister but then in opposition – moved to make protection for asylum seekers temporary.
Her Social Democrats also argued that uncontrolled immigration was placing huge pressure on working-class communities.
Greek island sees illegal crossings spike as Europe readies tougher migration measure
Trump says Iran threatened Europe as he confirms strikes on Tehran
Home Secretary to warn Labour to resist leftward shift after by-election loss
US and Israeli strikes against Iran not ‘legal in a way that the UK would recognise’
There is something else you should know about Hannah Spencer
Starmer under pressure as Labour civil war erupts over humiliating by-election loss
