Josh Simons MP - biggest immigration reforms in living memory

Many residents feel that we have lost control of our borders - and I don’t blame them.

Now, the Home Secretary has announced the biggest and toughest immigration reforms our country has ever seen.

I’ve always been clear that I believe that controlled borders are a cornerstone of democracy and I am very pleased that my friend the Home Secretary is taking strong, decisive action to reform the UK’s asylum and immigration system.

In recent years, net migration shot up, in the post-Brexit "Boriswave."

The number of people claiming asylum has also risen sharply.

This has placed real pressure on our community, public services, and local taxpayers. People are frustrated, and rightly so.

The system has been exploited for too long by those arriving illegally and by those abusing legal visa routes to then claim asylum once here.

I know that what local residents want is a system that is fair: where everyone plays by the rules, pays their fair share, and no one gets to jump the queue or find a loophole.

That’s what these changes will ensure.

Since Labour got into government, we’ve returned almost 50,000 people with no right to remain, including over 5,000 foreign offenders, and we have cut the asylum backlog (people sitting waiting for a decision, often stuck in migrant hotels) by 18 per cent.

But I’ve always been clear that we need a bigger shake up in the system: the world has changed, so we must keep up with it. We’re following the lead of countries like Denmark, who have regained control of immigration with tough reforms.

We’re increasing the time and specifications for indefinite leave to remain, because being part of Britain should be based on contribution, getting involved in our country.

We’ll also start reassessing the safety of the place people are seeking asylum from every 30 months, and when it’s deemed to be safe, they will return there.

And when countries refuse to take back their own citizens, we’ll sanction those countries.

The Home Secretary is also looking at closing the legal loopholes that allow economic migrants to game the system by claiming the right to family life under article 8 of the ECHR, and limiting last-minute appeals which frustrate valid removals.

We have a history in this country of offering refuge and asylum, and of celebrating and progressing Human rights.

We will always stand by those values. But there is nothing progressive about letting people die in channel crossings, or letting those who have no right to be here get away with blocking and gaming a system which was designed to help the most vulnerable in the world.

These reforms are firm but fair: protecting genuine refugees while ending the exploitation of Britain’s generosity.

I believe in restoring order and control because it’s the right thing to do.