Prøve GULL - Gratis
Starmer faces backlash over 'repugnant' asylum reforms
The Independent
|November 18, 2025
Labour fury as home secretary unveils hardline measures
Sir Keir Starmer and his home secretary are facing an angry backlash over their plans to toughen up Britain’s asylum system, with Labour MPs describing the new rules as “repugnant” and “performatively cruel”.
Shabana Mahmood yesterday unveiled a string of hardline measures aimed at discouraging asylum seekers and making it easier to remove those who have no right to remain in the country.
The prime minister said the current system was not designed to cope with a “more volatile and insecure” world – but Ms Mahmood’s announcement went much further than many in Labour had feared and is already facing resistance from backbenchers.
The Folkestone and Hythe MP, Tony Vaughan, a former immigration lawyer, said ministers’ rhetoric “encourages the same culture of divisiveness that sees racism and abuse growing in our communities”, and warned: “We have taken the wrong turning.”
Mr Vaughan said plans to review refugees’ status every few years would divert “huge amounts of resources away from making our asylum system work”.
Sarah Owen, chair of the women and equalities committee, labelled the policies “repugnant” while Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, said the changes were “performatively cruel”, adding: “It doesn’t have to be like this. There is a better way forward rooted in Labour values that also ensures control at our borders.” Denne historien er fra November 18, 2025-utgaven av The Independent.
Abonner på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av kuraterte premiumhistorier og over 9000 magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
FLERE HISTORIER FRA The Independent
The Independent
‘Port Talbot Pompeii’ find stuns archaeological team
Experts ‘strike gold’ with largest Roman villa discovery
3 mins
January 13, 2026
The Independent
Zahawi 'begged for peerage before defecting to Reform
Controversial former Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has defected to Reform UK after apparently unsuccessfully “begging” to be nominated for a peerage.
4 mins
January 13, 2026
The Independent
What will former top Tory bring to his new party?
Former cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi is the latest prominent Conservative to defect to Reform UK - to the obvious delight of its leader, Nigel Farage. Much is made of Zahawi’s expertise and experience, and he claims that he humbly wishes to be a “foot soldier” in Farage’s army because “we can all see that our beautiful, ancient, kind, magical island story has reached a dark and dangerous chapter”.
3 mins
January 13, 2026
The Independent
Stop 'disgusting' Al images or we will, PM tells Musk
Sir Keir Starmer has issued an ultimatum to Elon Musk, announcing that the government will take “fast action” to deal with the abuses of the AI tool Grok on X (Twitter).
4 mins
January 13, 2026
The Independent
Iran and US tiptoe towards dialogue after threats of war
Tehran says US lacks seriousness as messages are exchanged between Iranian foreign minister and Donald Trump's envoy
2 mins
January 13, 2026
The Independent
EU 'demands Farage clause in reset talks with Starmer
The EU is said to be demanding that financial compensation be paid by any future British government that reneges on a post-Brexit “reset” deal signed with Sir Keir Starmer, as part of an attempt to protect the agreement should Reform UK ever come to power.
2 mins
January 13, 2026
The Independent
Adolescence and Hamnet dominate at Golden Globes
Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper and Erin Doherty continued Adolescence’s winning streak as they all secured gongs at the Golden Globes - while Irish star Jessie Buckley picked up a prize for her performance in Hamnet.
4 mins
January 13, 2026
The Independent
Farage and Zahawi dismiss historic Twitter exchanges
Social media posts in which the pair harangued each other began to emerge following the former minister's defection
2 mins
January 13, 2026
The Independent
Saracens find old fighting spirit to terrify Toulouse
Perhaps the days of Saracens as an Investec Champions Cup force are not quite as distant as they had seemed.
4 mins
January 12, 2026
The Independent
THE X FACTOR
With six different cohorts now in the workplace, it's now the supposed slacker generation that's quietly running the show – and they're well suited to the task
6 mins
January 12, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size
