Starmer Plots Harder Line on Migration to Counter Farage Threat

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing tougher measures on immigration to stem a record flow of arrivals across the English Channel and stave off the threat posed by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party after it made sweeping gains in this week’s local elections.

If the government doesn’t do whatever it takes to stop asylum seekers entering the country by small boat from France, Labour risks losing the next general election, according to a senior party figure, who like others, requested anonymity to speak candidly about Labour’s challenges. They suggested ministers would have to consider how the European Convention on Human Rights is applied in asylum cases to ensure Britain is able to deport illegal migrants and foreign criminals. The ECHR is a long-standing magnet for attacks from the right of British politics.