THE Government has announced the most hard-hitting reforms to the asylum system in a generation, designed to reduce the number of arrivals, close legal loopholes, and significantly increase removals of those who have no right to remain in the UK.

Since 2021, over 400,000 people have claimed asylum in the UK, more than double the figure from a decade earlier. A quarter of those are claiming taxpayer-funded benefits. Rising arrivals, combined with years of slow removals, have put mounting pressure on public services and on communities across the country.

Since taking office, the Government has already returned or removed almost 50,000 people, including more than 5,000 foreign criminals, and has halved the asylum backlog from its 2023 peak.

The Home Secretary has presented a set of radical new measures to combat illegal immigration that she says will end the chaos and finally fix the broken asylum system. Those measures include increasing removals by accelerating asylum decisions, expanding the list of safe return countries, and exploring third

party country returns. The plans also include measures to shut down legal abuse of courts, with legislation to tighten and clarify the use of ECHR Article 8 and stop last-minute appeals that frustrate removals. Proposals also include restricting access to taxpayer-funded benefits and tackling illegal work that draws people

into the UK, as well as holding uncooperative countries to account through new sanctions and visa measures if they don’t take back their own citizens.

Chris Vince, Labour MP for Harlow, said:

“I stood on a manifesto pledge that said we would restore order to the broken asylum system. I welcome the changes announced by the home secretary. This is once again Labour delivering on the promises we made at the election.”

A Government spokesperson said:

“Britain will always play its part in offering protection, but we will not tolerate abuse of our system. These reforms send a clear message that we are firm but fair and if you have no right to be here, you should not expect to stay. We are restoring order, strengthening our borders, and putting the interests of the British

public first.”