Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester MP set to become Prime Minister next week, voted in favour of controversial asylum reforms that aim to reduce the number of successful asylum appeals. The Immigration and Asylum Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons by 264 votes to 90, a majority of 174, despite a rebellion by 14 Labour backbenchers.
Home Secretary defends reforms
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs the bill was designed to safeguard the asylum system for generations. She said: “This country has always provided sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution and I’m proud of that fact. But we must accept that public consent for our asylum system is fraying. Unless we restore control we will lose the British people’s support entirely.”
The reforms include tighter rules on how Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights—covering the right to private and family life—will be applied, which the Home Office hopes will cut the number of asylum appeals granted. A new appeals system would replace judges with “independent adjudicators” to increase capacity.
Labour dissent
Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) voted against the bill, saying: “There is little evidence that this Bill will do what it claims, that it will fix the most serious issues in our asylum system. In fact, experts say that it will divert focus and resources to a system that is unfair, unsafe, and unworkable.” Tony Vaughan (Folkestone and Hythe) noted that about 45% of Home Office refusals are overturned on appeal by the First-Tier Tribunal, questioning whether the new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority would ease pressure.
Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) criticised the proposed “core protection visa,” which would require refugees to be retested every 30 months for up to 20 years. She called it a “Diet Coke version of refugee status.” Both Creasy and Vaughan did not vote.
Government claims progress
Mahmood said decisions on asylum cases were at a 24-year high and removals at their highest in nearly a decade. Almost 10,000 foreign criminals have been deported since Labour took office. She added that 20% of asylum hotels had closed and the overall hotel population had decreased by 29%.
She emphasised the bill aims to create a system that is “fair to genuine refugees and fair also to British citizens,” ensuring swift processing for legitimate claimants and removal for those with no right to stay.
Conservative opposition
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the Conservatives would oppose the bill, arguing it does not go far enough. He called for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and stop illegal immigrants claiming asylum. His party’s amendment to the second reading was defeated 358-97.
Philp stated: “While these are small steps in the right direction… the measures she takes simply won’t work. Until we come out of the ECHR, until we come out of the ECAT treaty, until we stop illegal immigrants claiming asylum, until we end judicial review of most immigration cases, we won’t get control of our borders.”
