Georgia Wells
A recent small boat tragedy has placed further pressure on the Labour government to take action against irregular migration. The tragedy is believed to be the deadliest so far this year.
Six children and a pregnant women are among the 12 that lost their lives in the incident.
In response to the crisis, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper chaired a migration summit. The discussion focused on smashing the criminal gangs which facilitate small boat arrivals.
THE DEADLIEST MIGRANT CROSSING OF 2024
An over-crowded dinghy, with asylum-seekers mostly from Eritrea, was “ripped open” near the Northern French coast on Tuesday 3rd September.
Despite the incident leading to tragic loss of life, it has not deterred further migrants from taking the risk. Over 700 migrants successfully crossed the Channel during the past week. This brings the total number of small boat arrivals to 23,533 so far this year.
This represents a 3 per cent increase from this time last year, but remains 20 per cent lower than this stage of 2022.
The number of Channel deaths has reached “devastating new highs.” A record number of 43 people have died attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, compared to the 12 who died or were recorded missing in 2023.
LABOUR’S PLANS: ‘SMASH THE GANGS’
Since scrapping the Tory’s Rwanda Bill, Labour faces increasing pressure to provide an alternative immigration strategy.
Following the recent Channel tragedy, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin suggested a new migration treaty should be negotiated between the EU and Britain. He argued the “tens of millions of euros” that are negotiated with Britain every year are not enough to fix the growing problem.
The Labour leader – who is in the Hague for talks with the EU agency – said smashing the gangs should be treated “on a par” with terrorism.
“If we have learned anything about migration policy over recent decades then it is that there is no magic bullet”
During the landmark operational summit last week, Cooper set out Labour’s plans aimed at “disrupting, intercepting and destroying” the criminal smuggling network, which controls the movement of people and boats into Europe and across France into Britain.
Yet, as John Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Human Rights and Business, points out: “If we have learned anything about migration policy over recent decades then it is that there is no magic bullet.”
He suggests that Labour must be cautious not to follow the conservatives’ approach of focusing all their efforts on a single solution, which is unlikely to solve such a complex problem.
HOW DOES LABOUR SET OUT TO ‘SMASH THE GANGS?’
During the recent summit, Cooper said: “The last two months has seen encouraging progress, with significant seizures of boats and equipment in Europe.”
“But there is work to do, and the Border Security Command will bring all the relevant bodies together to investigate, arrest and prosecute these networks, as well as deepen our ties with key international partners,” she said.
Labour will also recruit 100 new specialist intelligence and investigation officers at the National Crime Agency (NCA), as well as 50 per cent more NCA officers stationed in Europol which are being sent to countries where gangs advertise Channel crossings.
Since last Spring, the NCA says more than 410 small boats and engines have been seized, preventing future Channel crossings.
“The average number of people loaded on by smugglers had risen from around 40 to at least 60 in the last year”
Starmar remains “absolutely convinced” this is the best way forward. Meanwhile, many experts and refugee charities have warned that an enforcement-heavy approach will not be an effective solution.
Amélie Moyart, from the French charity Utopia 56, argues the government’s focus on smashing the gangs will lead to an increasing death toll.
Mozart said: “There’s still a lot of demand but there’s less boats, which means there are more people in each one, and it’s more difficult to put a boat in the sea. All the enforcement the French and English are putting in place, it’s not a solution, it’s just making people take more and more risk and making the crossing more dangerous.”
WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE?
Under the 1951 Refugee Convention, the only way to submit an asylum claim in the UK is if you are physically on British soil. This is why irregular entry through the Channel is often the only option.
Refugee organisations have repeatedly advocated that safe and legal routes for asylum-seekers would greatly reduce the number of small-boat crossings.
https://twitter.com/migrantvoiceuk/status/1833876400660795610?s=46&t=4OaQcBeidy-I71kSMfHRTQ
But this solution is not simple. It would likely lead to a rapid increase in asylum claims, creating a new backlog on top of the 85,839 asylum-seekers already awaiting application decisions. The introduction of safe and legal routes would also cause even greater cost to the taxpayers.
Dr Peter Walsh, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, argues a rapid returns agreement with France has the “highest prospect of success.”
“Starmar’s willingness to explore new agreements with France has been influenced by Italy’s successful migration policies”
It would mean people arriving by small boats who do not have the right to be in the UK would automatically be sent back to France. In turn, Channel crossings would reduce as the UK makes it clear they will not get to stay. This sort of agreement has so far not been proposed by Labour. But, a government source has indicated Starmar is open to pursuing a potential migration deal with the French government in the future.
Starmar’s willingness to explore new agreements with France has been influenced by Italy’s successful migration policies. Central to its success have been Italy’s diplomatic agreements with countries like Tunisia and Libya, which have led to a 62 per cent reduction in migrants crossing the Mediterranean into Italy.
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Georgia Wells
I'm a final year Criminal Justice and Criminology student at the University of Leeds. After university I hope to pursue a career in journalism. I am passionate about tackling injustice, social and political policy, and human rights.