Burnham votes in favour of Government’s new asylum reforms amid rebellion

Harry Taylor, Will Meakin-Durrant, and Abbie Llewelyn, Press Association Political Staff

The Labour Party’s next leader Andy Burnham has voted in favour of controversial asylum reforms which Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said aimed to safeguard the asylum system for generations to come.

The newly elected MP for Makerfield, who is to become prime minister next week, backed the Government’s proposals which aim to cut the number of small boat crossings and instead direct people to alternative “safe and legal routes”.

They include new tighter rules on how Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which covers an individual’s right to a private and family life, will be applied, which the Home Office hopes will cut the number of asylum appeals being granted.

It will also create a new appeals system in which “independent adjudicators” would replace judges to help increase capacity to hear cases.

The Immigration and Asylum Bill passed its second reading by 264 votes to 90, majority 174.

However, the proposals came under fire from Labour backbenchers and 14 rebelled against the Government.

Ms Mahmood told MPs: “This country has always provided sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution and I’m proud of that fact. But we must accept that public consent for our asylum system is fraying.

“Unless we restore control we will lose the British people’s support entirely.

“My goal as Home Secretary is to rebuild the public’s confidence and thereby ensure we can continue providing protection to those in need, today and for generations to come.

“To do so, I believe we must restore fairness to our asylum system, fairness both to those who are fleeing war and persecution, and also fairness towards those communities who already bear the burden.”

Hit out

In opening the second reading debate in the House of Commons, Ms Mahmood hit out at the previous Conservative government “ceding controls of our borders to criminal gangs”, as she said the Government had arrested 55% more people smugglers than the Conservatives since taking office.

She said decisions on asylum cases were at a 24-year high and removals at their highest level in nearly a decade. Almost 10,000 foreign criminals have now been deported by Labour, she added.

Ms Mahmood also told MPs the number of people in asylum hotels had fallen, with 20% closing and the overall asylum hotel population decreasing by 29%.

She continued: “We wish to pivot to a system where in the future this country will live up to its responsibilities to help those in need across the world and fulfil our international obligations by taking people through safe and legal routes, where we will be able to increase the numbers that we take on those routes, it will be subject to debate in this Parliament.”

She added: “It is a Bill that is designed to be fair to genuine refugees and fair also to British citizens.

“It ensures asylum claims are fair and fast, with legitimate claimants not stuck in limbo, and the swift removal of those with no right to be here.

“It ensures that human rights protections remain robust where they must be, but are also tightened where they need to be to eradicate the abuse that has crept into our system, and finally, the measures in this Bill ensure we support those in their hour of need, while making clear that this may be a right, but it comes with responsibilities.

“When the recipients of public support are in a position to contribute towards their costs, they should.”

Dissent from Labour backbenches included Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East), who said: “There is little evidence that this Bill will do what it claims, that it will fix the most serious issues in our asylum system.

“In fact, experts say that it will divert focus and resources to a system that is unfair, unsafe, and unworkable.”

Overturn

Tony Vaughan said that, too often, the Home Office refuses to grant asylum to people seeking it in a way which the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) can overturn.

About 45% of Home Office refusals were overturned on appeal by the FTT, he told MPs.

“Home Office decision-making is a significant driver of appeal numbers,” the Labour MP for Folkestone and Hythe said.

He questioned whether replacing the FTT with an Independent Immigration Appeals Authority (IIAA), which would have the power to prioritise cases, such as human rights claims thought to be without merit, would ease pressure on the system.

And Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, referred to a Government proposal to review refugees’ status every 30 months, if they are in the UK on a new “core protection” route, which the Bill would establish.

“This Bill introduces a Diet Coke version of refugee status, the core protection visa, which will require refugees to be retested every 2.5 years, potentially for 20 years,” Ms Creasy said.

“Think of the cost.”

Ms Creasy and Mr Vaughan both did not vote. Ms Whittome voted against it.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the Conservative opposition would oppose the move, because he believed it was not strong enough.

Mr Philp said the Government needed to come out of the ECHR, and stop illegal immigrants claiming asylum.

Amendment

His party put forward an amendment to the second reading, which was defeated by 358 votes to 97, majority 261.

He said: “While these are small steps in the right direction, and while I do agree with the diagnoses that the Home Secretary very eloquently set out in her speech earlier, the measures she takes simply won’t work, and I know that because I’ve tried taking measures like this myself in the past … and the courts don’t let them stand.

“Until we come out of the ECHR, until we come out of the ECAT treaty (Council of Europe Convention on Action against Human Trafficking), until we stop illegal immigrants claiming asylum, until we end judicial review of most immigration cases, we won’t get control of our borders, and the public will continue to lose trust in mainstream politics.”