Suella Braverman: “Keir Starmer must tell the truth about his offers to give jobs in the UK to asylum seekers who weren't even allowed to stay in the country “. Photo: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament.
Swella Braverman has accused Sir Keir Starmer of plotting to “stimulate” illegal migration with a plan to ease restrictions on paid asylum seekers.
< p>The Home Secretary urged the opposition leader to “deal with” what she said was Labor's proposal to “give jobs in the UK to asylum seekers who have not even been given the right to stay in this country.”
Mr Intervention Ms. Braverman happened when it emerged that Sir Keir had said that the existing restrictions on applicants working in the UK “defy common sense”. Most asylum seekers are not allowed to work while their case is pending. Instead, they are offered taxpayer-funded housing and food.
The Conservatives will use the approach to claim that Labor will “open our borders”, amid anger, especially in Red Wall locations, over the Tory approach to migration. .
'Sir Keir must confess'
Ms Braverman said: “Keir Starmer must tell the truth about his offers to give work in the UK to asylum seekers who were not even given the right to stay in this country ”.
“Labour’s so-called plan will undermine British workers, incentivize more migrants to make the dangerous journey across the English Channel when we need to do the opposite…
“This is the kind of policy you would expect from a weak leader and a party that is not even remotely serious about fighting illegal migration but is quite happy to open our borders if given the chance.”
The Labor Leader revealed his approach in September 2021 when he attempted to provoke a Tory split that resulted in several asylum supporters saying they would allow asylum seekers to work while their applications were pending due to the lengthy delays many faced.
Priity Patel, then Home Secretary, resisted relaxing the rules, but Dominic Raab, who was Minister of Justice at the time, said he would be “open” to the idea.
The spread of cases about asylum cases
Over the past 21 months, the number of pending asylum cases has increased from 70,000 to more than 127,000, with more than two-thirds of them pending for six months or more.
Sir Keir told The Guardian at the time: “I met a Syrian doctor who … couldn't work because the application wasn't properly filed. He desperately wanted to use his skills to help the community, which was very, very welcoming, but he was forbidden to do so. It defies common sense.
Conservative strategists fear that Rishi Sunak's promise to “stop boats” carrying migrants across the English Channel is unlikely to be met without more drastic action.
Last week, the Court of Appeal blocked deportation flights to Rwanda, and Ms Braverman's intervention shows a willingness on the part of conservatives to highlight any signs that Sir Keir is taking a softer approach to migration.
In In the United Kingdom, the vast majority of asylum seekers are not allowed to work while their applications are still being processed, even though the rule technically allows them to request permission to do so after 12 months. EU law requires members to allow applicants to work after a nine-month wait or longer.
A Labor spokesman said of Sir Keir's remarks: “This is clearly case specific.
“The Conservatives have violated our asylum system, and the number of outstanding applications rose to a record 173,000, while the number of asylum decisions fell. It's chaos in their hideout, but they have absolutely no plan to fix it.”
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