As a former Conservative MP, I witnessed ministerial colleagues work incredibly hard, against a backdrop of relentless abuse from Labour MPs and the Left, trying to get a grip on our asylum and illegal migration system.
As a member of the Conservative Common Sense Group, we sounded the alarm on both illegal and legal migration long before it became fashionable to acknowledge the scale of the crisis.
As a coastal MP with illegal migrants arriving on my constituency’s shores, I took part in No. 10 ‘roundtable’ discussions with other MPs, ministers and the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.
When the Conservative Government tried to get a grip on illegal migration and stop the boats, on every possible occasion (139 times) Labour voted against our measures, including against the powers they now trumpet.
Conservative MPs were abused, shouted down, accused of being racist, and in some cases, received death threats from the Left for daring to say that Britain must control its borders.
So, I do not join the applause that Shabana Mahmood has discovered that uncontrolled illegal migration is a problem. The hypocrisy is astounding. Conservatives have been demonised for years for saying what Labour now says openly, and the public can see it.
Labour’s new proposals fall short. This crisis needs a fundamental reset. Unless the UK leaves the European Convention on Human Rights, repeals Tony Blair’s Human Rights Act, and reforms Theresa May’s Modern Slavery Act to prevent abuse, Ms Mahmood’s plans will not work.
We need a deterrence to stop the criminal gangs and give the British public confidence that their government is finally in control.
Labour is offering the usual - a patchwork of illusions. How will they persuade the courts to take a different view of Article 8? Do judges simply need a quiet word?
How easy will it be to renegotiate Article 3 returns agreements with the 45 countries which have refused to cooperate for years? And the proposal for a 20-year path to settlement for illegal entrants is a perverse reward.
It is not just about the strain on our communities, but about an asylum system which is completely overwhelmed to the point where genuine refugees are suffering whilst illegal migrants exploit the rules. The country is fed up. We want this sorted now.
Labour needs to drop the tribal politics, sit down with the Conservatives, and work together on a plan that delivers. The longer it drags on, the more space it creates for racism to grow.
Shabana Mahmood is already fighting for her political future, she just doesn't know it yet - Sally-Ann Hart | Getty Images
Labour’s own benches are gearing up for a fight, and many Labour MPs will revolt against even these limited measures. Kemi’s Conservatives have been clear for months that if Labour brings forward proposals that genuinely stop the crossings (and not the half-hearted tinkering being presented as a ‘new approach’), they will support them.
So, when Labour’s backbench rebellion comes, the Conservatives could help get the legislation through because, party politics aside, that would be in the country’s best interests.
In just 75 days since Shabana Mahmood became Home Secretary, 10,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the Channel. We would never leave our homes wide open and hope not to be burgled, but that is precisely the complacency this government shows at our borders. Ten thousand in two months – if this is what improvement looks like, Britain is in deeper trouble than we thought.
There is also a deeper problem inside the Home Office.
My predecessor in Hastings and Rye, Amber Rudd, learned the hard way what happens when a Home Secretary tries to get a grip on migration. She was let down by the very officials tasked with delivering her policies and paid for it with her job.
Priti Patel, Dominic Raab and Suella Braverman all faced relentless briefings, obstruction and internal pushback whenever they tried to push through Conservative border policies. The Home Office cannot continue acting as a barrier to securing our borders.
Labour may have finally acknowledged that Conservatives were right. But, unless they are prepared to take the tough decisions required, they will simply be managing the decline of a system and a country already at a breaking point. British people deserve far better than that.
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