Labour’s rebranding aligns with a global surge in far-right, anti-migrant rhetoric
~ Blade Runner ~
Labour’s government is celebrating record deportation figures while pushing through draconian new legislation that criminalises migration to an unprecedented degree. The Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill imposes severe penalties: 14-year prison sentences for selling small boat parts or offering shelter to asylum seekers. Even accessing weather or travel information to assist “illegal” journeys is now punishable by a five-year sentence, regardless of where the act is committed. Forced phone seizures, denial of identification, and stripping migrants of modern slavery victim protections have also been legalised.
Since taking office, Labour has deported nearly 19,000 “foreign criminals”, the highest figure since 2017. Deportees have been paraded in handcuffs and subjected to public humiliation—tactics reminiscent of Trump-era U.S. policies. The government’s rhetoric frames migrants as dangerous criminals, using counter-terror language to justify heightened surveillance and police-state measures.
The Bill also creates a permanent underclass of stateless individuals by denying citizenship to those who arrive via unauthorised routes, such as crossing the Channel in small boats. This could bar 71,000 asylum seekers from claiming British citizenship. Colin Yeo, a leading immigration barrister, warns this policy will trap people in a liminal space without voting rights, excluded from civic life, and at risk of deportation for minor infractions.
The government is also offering a contract worth nearly £400 million to manage deportation flights over the next seven years. In January, a Home Office-led crackdown on illegal working saw 509 arrests during 828 business raids targeting nail bars, car washes, convenience stores, and restaurants. Over 1,000 civil penalties—up to £60,000 each—have been issued to companies employing undocumented migrants. Reports suggest Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will join a dawn raid to underscore the crackdown.
This hard-line shift is more than a calculated rebranding aimed at stemming voter defections to the far right. It aligns with a global surge in far-right, anti-migrant rhetoric. European and U.S. far-right leaders are strengthening alliances, exemplified by last week’s populist rally under the banner “Make Europe Great Again”. Elon Musk has voiced support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which ahead of Germany’s upcoming elections is now polling just 8 points behind the Christian Democrats (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) coalition. The British legislation goes beyond the agendas of the Conservative and Reform parties, exposing Keir Starmer’s vision to “Make UK Great Again”.
As fascism enters the 21st century, our comrades in the US remind us that rather than seeking safety in passivity, it’s actually safer at the front lines of grassroots resistance, from where we can see clearer what is going on ahead of us. For UK radicals, the smart play in response to Labour’s surge to the right is to avoid the traps of peaceful protest and the failed solutions of mainstream electoral politics, both of which have repeatedly shown themselves to be part of the problem. Instead, the resurgence of far-right movements highlights the failures of electoral democracy and points to the necessity of building a movement grounded in direct action and community-based organising.
Photo: Keir Starmer MP on Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
