UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Housing Secretary Steve Reed says Labour MPs were elected on a border security pledge, defending asylum reforms amid criticism from party members.
As reported by The Independent, a Cabinet minister said all Labour MPs were elected on a pledge to secure the UK’s borders as he defended the party’s controversial asylum plan.
Steve Reed expressed pride in his role in Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet, supporting reforms designed to tackle asylum seekers and remove those without legal status.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s asylum proposals have drawn backlash from Labour backbenchers, who claim they echo Nigel Farage’s Reform UK rhetoric.
What did Steve Reed defend Labour’s controversial deportation proposals?
Communities Secretary Steve Reed defended aspects of the proposals that may allow the removal of families, including children, who have been denied asylum and financial support to return home.
Speaking on Times Radio, he reassured that families would not be separated, saying,
“We know that we need more safe and legal routes so that families who have the right to come here and seek asylum can get into the country, but we can’t continue to allow incentives to exist that result in children drowning in the Channel.”
The housing secretary declined to specify how much the financial incentive for voluntary departures might rise, saying the matter is still under review.
He added,
“I think it’s perfectly reasonable to give people financial support to make the journey back to their home. In the long run, it’s cheaper for the British taxpayer to do that.”
In response to claims from some party members that the Government is catering to Reform, Mr Reed replied,
“you are always going to have a range of views” but that “the vast majority of members of the Labour Party and Labour MPs know that we need to deal with this problem because of the harm that it’s doing to our country and to social cohesion.”
When questioned if Labour backbenchers opposing the proposals should join the Green Party, the Cabinet minister said, “Absolutely not.”
He stated,
“Every single one of us who is a Labour MP was elected on the same manifesto, and that manifesto committed us now as a Government to securing our borders. It’s very important that we do that. The British people expect us to do that. But we also have to end this vile trade in human lives.”
Asked if he was proud to be in government, he responded, “Absolutely,” and described tackling illegal migration as “a very significant issue” for the public.
What did Alf Dubs say about Shabana Mahmood’s asylum plans?
A Labour veteran peer who arrived in the UK as a child refugee has warned that the Home Secretary is
“using children as a weapon”
in her asylum reforms.
Alf Dubs, a former child refugee who fled Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939, slammed Shabana Mahmood’s asylum proposals as “a shabby thing.”
He said,
“There is a proper case for children, there is a proper case for family reunion when there are children who are on their own,”
and he added that
“to use children as a weapon as the home secretary is doing I think is a shabby thing.”
Mr Dubs added,
“What it will do is to increase tensions in local communities and will make this country less welcome than we have traditionally been to welcome people who come here fleeing for safety. What we need is a bit of compassion in our politics.”
He continued,
“My particular fear is integration in local communities: if people are here temporarily, and people know they’re here temporarily, then the danger is that local people say, well, you’re only here for a bit, why should we help you to integrate? Why should your kids go to local schools? And so on.”
What did Shabana Mahmood say about the UK’s asylum crisis?
Shabana Mahmood said the UK’s generous asylum system, compared with other European countries, is attracting more arrivals and appears “out of control and unfair.”
She stated,
“The pace and scale of change has destabilised communities. It is making our country a more divided place.”
The home secretary said,
“There will never be a justification for the violence and racism of a minority, but if we fail to deal with this crisis, we will draw more people down a path that starts with anger and ends in hatred.”
A policy document released by the Home Office said:
“Our hesitancy around returning families creates particularly perverse incentives. To some the personal benefit of placing a child on a dangerous small boat outweighs the considerable risks of doing so.”
It added,
“Once in the UK, asylum seekers are able to exploit the fact that they have had children and put down roots in order to thwart removal, even if their claim has been legally refused.”
How are Labour MPs reacting to the Government’s controversial asylum reforms?
Labour rebel Richard Burgon slammed the Home Secretary, calling the plans
“scraping the bottom of the barrel”
and
“a desperate attempt to triangulate with Reform.”
Ian Lavery, Labour MP, questioned the approach of the government, asking,
“Is it not time to reconsider our position?”
Labour MPs Stella Creasy and Nadia Whittome criticised the asylum reforms, saying they leave refugees in
“a permanent sense of limbo”
and violate protections for those
“who have endured severe trauma.”
Simon Opher said Labour should “stop the scapegoating of immigrants because it’s wrong and cruel”, adding “we should push back on the racist agenda of Reform rather than echo it”.
How many illegal migrants are in the UK?
According to recent figures, the estimated number of illegal migrants in the UK as of 2025 is between 700,000 and 900,000.
The Greater London Authority estimated around 674,000 illegal migrants, increasing to 809,000 when including UK-born children of unauthorized migrants.
Official detections of irregular arrivals within the year ending June 2025 were about 49,000, with 88% arriving by small boats.
