From controversial international agreements to legislative acts against asylum seekers, the UK is reinforcing an agenda of migratory containment. In recent years, the country has implemented policies that directly conflict with the international refugee protection regime, generating conflicts with international organizations and questions about historical commitments to human rights.
Since 2014, the promise to curb immigration has been one of the main planks of the Brexit campaign. “Take back total control” was the slogan used in 2020 by Boris Johnson, then prime minister, during the final period of the transitional arrangements for the UK’s exit from the European Union. The idea was associated with various areas such as currency and laws, and also extended to borders. However, in the five years since the official exit, the country has seen record arrivals of immigrants.
According to the Associated Press, in 2018, 299 small boats reached the UK coastline. Four years later, in 2022, that number had risen to 45,774. The figures alarm both the government and society, making migration one of the main issues in recent elections and politics. Amid the need for answers, recent governments have adopted increasingly restrictive measures that threaten the right to asylum. This tightening of borders has led to tensions with international organizations, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for violating internationally consolidated principles of the refugee protection regime. To varying extents, both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party are advocating the containment of migration in the face of a growing refugee crisis in the English Channel region.
Stop the boats: the shipwreck of the right to refuge
In April 2022, while Boris Johnson was still in office, the UK signed an agreement with Rwanda to deport irregular arrivals and asylum seekers to the African country, which became known as the “Migration and Economic Development Partnership” (MEDP), or Rwanda Plan. The MEDP would provide for the deportation of people to Rwanda who, according to the British government, have no right to remain in the country. Asylum seekers would be banned from accessing the right in the UK, and would be forcibly sent to Rwanda with no possibility of return. In return, the British government would pay the Rwandan government around £370 million.
In October 2022, Rishi Sunak took office as Prime Minister, with a mandate marked by the reminder of the slogan “Stop the boats”, coined by Australian politician Tony Abbott. In November 2023, the MEDP was ruled illegal by the UK Supreme Court, for violating human rights and previously signed agreements. Despite this, Sunak continued to raise institutionalization measures against refugees, with a focus on small boats arriving on the coast of England via the English Channel.
In 2024, two years after Boris Johnson’s first attempt, the British parliament passed the law that would enable the implementation of the MEDP, sparking outrage among human rights and refugee-related organizations, such as the International Rescue Committee and the UNHCR.
In addition to the Rwanda Plan, there is also the Illegal Migration Act, passed in 2024, which “removes access to asylum in the UK for anyone who arrives irregularly, having passed through a country – even briefly – where they have not suffered persecution” (UNHCR, 2023, online). The directive goes against the framework of the international refugee regime, such as the 1951 Refugee Convention, which highlights that people in situations of refuge often do not have access to legal entry routes and, due to the conditions, have to resort to irregular access to asylum.
In this way, it is clear that the government has build a hostile procedure to asylum seekers. The measures have a significant impact on the refugee protection regime by limiting access to internationally ratified human rights.
The change of government in July 2024 put the brakes on the Rwanda Plan. Upon taking office, current Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the Labor Party, said that the MEDP was “dead and buried”, one of his first acts in office. Although the Conservative projects have been abandoned, the Brexit promise to take back control of the borders continues to be reiterated by the Labour government.
Starmer is now focusing on controlling net immigration by reviewing legal migration policy, such as visas for entry into the country. In May 2025, the Prime Minister announced a plan to curb immigration, due to the risk of the UK becoming an “island of strangers, not a nation walking together”. The new policy to reduce the number of immigrants restricts access to citizenship through higher qualifications for work visas. In addition, to apply for the right to stay indefinitely, immigrants will have to reside in the country for 10 years, double the current period of 5 years.
Under a new direction, migration control remains a priority in British government policy. The number of immigrants arriving via the English Channel is still a concern, even though Starmer’s approach is less aggressive than that of previous Conservative governments. It remains to be seen whether the Labour government will continue to reverse the inhumane policies that have been implemented, or whether it will bow to pressure from the opposition and certain sectors of society.
References
https://www.rescue.org/uk/article/rwanda-plan-explained-why-uk-government-should-rethink-scheme
http://unhcr.org/news/press-releases/unhcr-appeals-uk-uphold-its-international-legal-obligations https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/economia/macroeconomia/reino-unido-quer-restringir-vistos-e-dar-fim-a-livre-mercado-na-imigracao/
