Every Labour MP elected on pledge to secure borders, Reed says amid backlash

“Every single” Labour MP was elected on a manifesto commitment to secure the UK’s borders, a Cabinet minister has said as he defended the Government’s asylum reforms amid a backlash from within the party.

Steve Reed said he was “absolutely” proud to be part of Sir Keir Starmer’s administration bringing in the package aimed at deterring migrants from seeking asylum in the UK and making it easier to remove people with no right to be in the country.

But the plans announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood have faced public condemnation from some Labour backbenchers, who said they echoed the rhetoric of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Communities Secretary Mr Reed defended a controversial element of the proposals that could see the deportation of families, including children, who have been denied asylum in the UK and refused payments to return to their home countries.

Stressing that families would not be separated, he told Times Radio on Tuesday: “We know that we need more safe and legal routes so that families who have the right to come here and seek asylum can get into the country, but we can’t continue to allow incentives to exist that result in children drowning in the Channel.”

Mr Reed would not say by how much the cash incentive encouraging them to leave might rise, noting it was subject to consultation.

He continued: “I think it’s perfectly reasonable to give people financial support to make the journey back to their home.

“In the long run, it’s cheaper for the British taxpayer to do that.”

On accusations from some in his party that the Government was pandering to Reform, Mr Reed said “you are always going to have a range of views” but that “the vast majority of members of the Labour Party and Labour MPs know that we need to deal with this problem because of the harm that it’s doing to our country and to social cohesion”.

Asked whether Labour backbenchers criticising the plans should join the Green Party, the senior MP told Sky News: “Absolutely not.

“Every single one of us who is a Labour MP was elected on the same manifesto, and that manifesto committed us now as a Government to securing our borders.

“It’s very important that we do that. The British people expect us to do that. But we also have to end this vile trade in human lives.”

Pressed on whether he was proud to be part of the Government, he said “absolutely” and that tackling illegal migration was “a very significant issue” for the public.

Allies of Ms Mahmood warned that “dark forces” would be unleashed if Labour does not respond to voters’ concerns and tackle the problem.

The Home Secretary told MPs on Monday it was the “uncomfortable truth” that the UK’s generous asylum offer, compared to other European countries, was drawing people to UK shores, and for British taxpayers the system “feels out of control and unfair”.

“The pace and scale of change has destabilised communities. It is making our country a more divided place,” Ms Mahmood said.

“There will never be a justification for the violence and racism of a minority, but if we fail to deal with this crisis, we will draw more people down a path that starts with anger and ends in hatred.”

Party rebels challenged Ms Mahmood over the plans, with former Labour frontbencher Richard Burgon saying the policy “scrapes the bottom of the barrel” and was “a desperate attempt to triangulate with Reform”.

Ian Lavery said that when the Tories and Reform are backing the policies “is it not time to question whether we’re actually in the right place?”.

Stella Creasy said the plans would leave refugees in “a permanent sense of limbo” and Nadia Whittome said it was “shameful that a Labour Government is ripping up the rights and protections of people who have endured unimaginable trauma”.

Simon Opher said Labour should “stop the scapegoating of immigrants because it’s wrong and cruel”, adding “we should push back on the racist agenda of Reform rather than echo it”.

Around 20 Labour MPs have so far publicly opposed the asylum overhaul – a relatively small number within the more than 400-strong Parliamentary Labour Party.

The plans include:

– Cutting the time refugees are initially granted to stay in the UK, from five years to a 30-month “core protection” system, which can only be renewed if it is not safe for them to return.

– Refugees will have to spend 20 years in the UK before being allowed to apply for settled status, up from five years.

– There will be no automatic right to family reunion for refugees under core protection.

– Housing and weekly allowances will no longer be guaranteed for asylum seekers and those who can work or have valuable assets will have to contribute to their costs in the UK.

– Families with children could also be subject to enforced returns under measures to remove those with no right to be in the UK.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the measures did not go far enough, adding that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was necessary to address the problem.

She said: “The fact is we have looked at this issue from every possible direction and the reality is that any plan that doesn’t include leaving the ECHR as a necessary step is wasting time we don’t have.”

Reform’s head of policy Zia Yusuf told Sky News “the British people are sick and tired of these half measures” and called for an exit from the ECHR.