Plan to Change Asylum Rules Divides UK, Labour Party

The British government's plan to tighten its asylum system met sharp resistance Monday from its own party but was receiving some support from political rivals in a sign of how divisive the immigration issue has become. Before Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood even released details of the sweeping plan to make the UK less attractive to asylum-seekers and migrants easier to remove, she was trying to quell a backlash from center-left Labour Party backbenchers who accused her of trying to court the far right, the AP reports.

• Inside Labour: "It's shameful that a Labour government is ripping up the rights and protections of people who have endured unimaginable trauma," said Nadia Whittome, a Labour member of Parliament who called the proposed policies cruel. "Is this how we'd want to be treated if we were fleeing for our lives? Of course, not." Mahmood said her plans, which she partially released over the weekend, could fix a broken asylum system and unite a divided country over an issue that has helped fuel the rise of the anti-immigrant Reform UK Party. "We have a problem that it is our moral duty to fix," Mahmood said in the House of Commons. She said the new policy would deter migrants who don't stay in the first safe country where they land, but instead "asylum shop" across Europe.
• The influx: More than 39,000 migrants have arrived by boat in the UK this year, surpassing the almost 37,000 in 2024, according to Home Office figures. However, the number is still shy of the nearly 40,000 who had arrived at this point in the year in 2022, which recorded the highest number ever. Arrivals by boat still are a fraction of total immigration, with most people entering legally, on visas. Net migration—the number of people entering the UK minus those who left—topped 900,000 in the year ending June 2023, largely driven by hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war in Ukraine and China's clampdown in Hong Kong. Net migration declined to 431,000 in the year through June 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics, down 49.9% from 860,000 a year earlier.

• Changes: The new provisions, modeled after Denmark's policy, would revoke the UK's legal duty to provide support for asylum seekers, allowing the government to withdraw housing and weekly allowances that are now guaranteed. Benefits could also be denied to people who have a right to employment but don't work, and those who break the law or work illegally. Refugee status would also be regularly reviewed to see if people can safely be repatriated. They will also have to wait 20 years, instead of five, to be permanently settled. Safe ways would be designated for migrants to claim asylum without having to risk crossing the choppy channel in overcrowded inflatable rafts.
• Reaction: While some political opponents said Mahmood's proposals don't go far enough, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch offered her support. "What we are seeing from the Labour government is steps in the right direction, so we want to encourage them in that right direction," Badenoch said. Noting the Labour infighting, Richard Tice, deputy leader of the hard-right Reform UK, joked that Mahmood sounded like she's "bringing an application to join Reform." Tice said he would wait and see what was proposed before committing the support of his party, which has just five of the 650 seats in the House.
• On Downing Street: Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to crack down on migrant smuggling gangs. With Labour facing dreadful polling numbers, he could face leadership challenges just 18 months after a landslide election victory. A spokesperson repeatedly had to deny the government's asylum plan was trying to curry favor with far-right voters. "We are an open, tolerant, and generous country, but we must restore order and control," the spokesperson said. "If we do not, we will lose public consent for giving refuge at all."