'This Government means business': Tipton and Wednesbury MP welcomes government crackdown on asylum, Stourbridge MP is less impressed

Antonia Bance, MP for Tipton and Wednesbury, praised plans announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to reduce the number of migrants arriving in the UK in small boats.

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However, the plans received a more muted response from Cat Eccles, her Labour colleague for the neighbouring Stourbridge constituency, who said the priority should be creating safe and legal routes for asylum seekers to enter the UK from mainland Europe.

The Government has described its reforms as the most hard-hitting changes to the asylum system in a generation, saying it would 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, more than 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. 

The Government says rising arrivals, combined with years of slow removals, have put mounting pressure on public services and on communities across the country.

Miss Bance said: "Our asylum system is broken and people in Tipton and Wednesbury are fed up.

"Labour is delivering the radical action they've demanded - faster removals, tougher enforcement, and an end to the legal loopholes that have let this spiral out of control. This government means business."

But Miss Eccles warned of the dangers of 'pandering to populist opinion' and 'scapegoating refugees'.

"It's absolutely right that we should know who is coming into our country and stop dangerous boat crossings in the Channel," she said.

"But we don't achieve that by pandering to populist opinion and scapegoating refugees.

"We need safe legal routes and the ability to apply for asylum before reaching the UK. 

"The Government laid out plans to control immigration over 12 months ago, we certainly don't need to start fiddling with the European Convention on Human Rights to aid deportations."

Miss Eccles said the Strasbourg court had only ruled against the UK on immigration three times in the past 45 years, and appeals on the grounds of human rights represent 0.73 per cent of foreign criminals in the UK.

"Trying to be seen to be doing something is not the answer," she said. 

A Government spokesman said almost 50,000 people had already been removed, including more than 5,000 foreign criminals. 

The asylum backlog had halved compared to its peak in 2023 peak.

The Home Secretary's new measures include accelerating asylum decisions, expanding the list of countries to where they can be safely returned, and exploring deportations to third-party countries.

Miss Mahmood said the plans also included measures to 'shut down legal abuse of courts', with legislation to tighten and clarify the use of the European Convention on Human Rights, 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 do not take back their own citizens.

A Government spokesman 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.”