We need a strong plan to reduce migration. Unfortunately, I believe that the Labour Government has a weak approach to this fundamental problem.
Since the 2024 election, 67,000 people have entered the UK illegally, a 45% increase compared with the same period before the election. So far, the Labour Government has shown that it has no plans to tackle this issue.
The Government are now resorting to bribing illegal immigrants with £40,000 per family to leave – that is more than most working people here earn in a year. The concept that the Government is throwing away taxpayer money to remove illegal immigrants is frankly disgraceful.
That is why I am supporting the Conservative Party’s Deportation Bill to take back control of our borders and fix the broken immigration system that Labour refuses to confront. Our plan can be enacted now to get immigration back under control once and for all.
I am supporting measures which will mean the automatic deportation for anyone who arrives in Britain illegally; new powers to remove Indefinite Leave to Remain from anyone who has become a burden on our country; visa sanctions for uncooperative countries who refuse to take back people who have arrived here illegally; new powers to deport all foreign criminals rather than only deporting those with longer sentences; mandatory scientific age testing for asylum seekers and removing GDPR protections from foreign criminals and illegal migrants.
We also need to address concerns about the Government’s ability to deport illegal migrants and foreign national offenders. That is why I am supporting the Conservative Party’s policy to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights and disapply the Human Rights Act in deportation cases.
Over time, the courts have produced more and more judgments, which make it difficult for the Government to defend our borders. That is why I am backing this change, which would prevent the European Court of Human Rights from limiting how effective our immigration and deportation law is. This change would bar immigrants from bringing human rights claims into our courts and that would ultimately prevent their deportation or overturn decisions not to grant them asylum.
It is critical to shift immigration powers back from the courts to Parliament and elected Ministers. The Conservative Party’s approach is practical and deliverable and would restore control, reduce immigration and enhance our security.
Under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership, we would also double the period of time you have to be in this country before you can claim Indefinite Leave to Remain here, increasing the period from the current 5 years to 10 years. Anybody who does apply for this after living here for 10 years must not have claimed benefits or used social housing during the time they have been here, must be a net contributor to our economy and cannot have any criminal record. If an individual does not follow these rules, then they would not be allowed to apply.
We would also then extend the time you are able to apply for British citizenship from 12 months after obtaining Indefinite Leave to Remain to five years. This country is not a hotel - it is our home. Citizenship must be a privilege not an assumed right and under these reforms it would take a minimum of 15 years of contributing to our country before being able to benefit from it, rather than the current 6.
If an individual enters this country illegally, or is staying here illegally, they should never be allowed to claim Indefinite Leave to Remain or access citizenship. Anybody who is found to have obtained these based on false information should have their status revoked. I believe this is obvious.
