KEMI BADENOCHE

THE first duty of a government is to protect its people, and therefore, its borders. Labour have failed on both counts.

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And 2025 is so far the worst year on record for Channel crossings. On Keir Starmer's watch, nearly 28,000 people have arrived on small boats since January - up 47% compared to last year.

Labour promised they would "smash the gangs", but no gang has been smashed. Instead, one of their first acts was to scrap the Rwanda plan and remove the only viable deterrent. In its place, they have a French one-in-one-out deal that does nothing to tackle the overall numbers and is only targeting 50 people a week, when more than 800 are arriving.