Amanda Martin, Labour MP for Portsmouth North has welcomed vital reforms to the asylum and migration system being brought in by Labour’s Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
The Immigration and Asylum Bill published in Parliament this week will create a fairer asylum system and crack down on illegal migration, through the most sweeping reforms in a generation.
These measures come as part of Labour’s latest efforts to restore public confidence and fairness to the system, which residents in Portsmouth have long called for after the Conservatives left Britain’s borders open and illegal migration was allowed to get completely out of control.
Swift progress has already been made over the past two years since Labour entered office, with enforcement, removals and asylum decision making up, and net migration and the number of people in asylum hotels down. Nearly 70,000 people with no right to be here, including 10,000 foreign national offenders, have been removed.
The new package of measures includes new capped safe and legal routes, reforms to Human Rights Law to prevent abuse, further asylum hotel closures and a new independent immigration appeals authority.
The new routes will be opened for applications in the autumn, and are based on Canada’s successful community sponsorship model, similar to the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
There will also be new legislation to reform Human Rights laws, to prevent abuse and illegal entry, but also to protect these laws for future generations. In contrast, Reform UK have pledged to leave the ECHR entirely, leaving future generations without vital protections, first introduced by Winston Churchill.
Under the previous Conservative government, taxpayers paid £9 million a day to fund hotels. The Labour Government has already reduced the costs of asylum by £1 billion. Last week, it was announced that a further 20 asylum hotels have closed, bringing down the cost to taxpayers and giving communities back their hotels.
The Government is moving forward with plans to use former Ministry of Defence military bases instead, with new plans to ensure adults who are able to pay for accommodation rightly do so.
A new body, the Independent Immigration Appeals authority will be set up to speed up the removal of failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals, meaning less of a backlog, and swifter decision making.
All these measures together mean that tens of thousands more illegal migrants and foreign criminals will be returned over the next decade, while also providing proper sanctuary for those in genuine need.
Shabana Mahmood MP, Labour’s Home Secretary, said: “Britain has always offered sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution.
“But this system only survives if the public trusts that it is fair, controlled and not open to abuse.
“My goal is simple: to ensure we have an asylum system not just today, but for generations to come”
Amanda Martin, Labour MP for Portsmouth North, said: “Every week I speak to residents who are concerned about immigration and want our system to be fairer and more secure. While Reform UK offer easy answers and unworkable solutions, the Greens chase after their dream of open borders. Labour is getting on with the job of fixing the system as my constituents in Portsmouth expect.
“Too often, the system is too slow, too open to abuse and too expensive. We have already made huge strides to improve it, but these measures will go even further. I look forward to supporting these vital new laws in the House of Commons.”
