UK Tories Vow to Shut Down Labour's New Asylum Routes

The UK Conservative Party has pledged to 'immediately' shut down new asylum routes being established by the Labour Party for Afghans and Palestinians, should the Conservatives win the next general election. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp stated that these new pathways should not be considered while illegal immigration remains 'rife'.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the plan last week, indicating that the proposed 'safe routes' would primarily focus on Palestinians, as well as Afghan women and girls. Mahmood had asserted that the scheme would help 'unlock the inherent generosity of this country'.

However, Philp is set to declare in a speech at the Conservative Party conference that "While illegal migration is rife, the government should not be opening our borders even more – and we would close this scheme down immediately." He also outlined plans for a new removals force intended to deport 150,000 failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals, and visa overstayers annually. Philp projected that over the course of a parliamentary term, this force would remove three-quarters of a million foreign nationals who do not have the right to remain in the UK, prioritizing those who arrive illegally by small boat to create a deterrent effect.

Furthermore, Philp intends to criticize Labour's proposal to extend the waiting period for migrants seeking indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK. He plans to argue that this policy is likely to be weakened under pressure from within Labour, specifically from MPs advocating for more open borders. Philp contends that under a Labour government, hundreds of thousands of migrants could remain in the UK permanently, incurring significant costs for taxpayers.

Mahmood had previously defended the extended ILR waiting period as a necessary measure to manage the financial burden on the Treasury, especially in light of an increase in post-Covid immigration. The proposed changes were met with opposition from some Labour MPs who deemed them unfair to migrants already in the UK, and some prominent figures within the party have described the scheme as 'un-British' and 'wrong'.

On the subject of law and order, Philp is also expected to challenge a police 'anti-racism commitment'. He will criticize a document from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) that suggests 'racial equity' does not equate to treating everyone the same or being 'colour blind'. According to Philp, this policy advocates for treating different ethnic groups differently to artificially equalize arrest rates, a stance he describes as 'literally racist' and has pledged to scrap under a Conservative government.

Philp's speech is also anticipated to include remarks mocking the Reform UK party.