UK government unveils asylum crackdown: PM Starmer says current regime is “pull factor” for migrants

Shabana Mahmood, Labour’s new interior minister, announced late Saturday, November 15, plans to drastically reduce protections for refugees and end automatic benefits for asylum seekers, slashing irregular immigration and countering the hard right. Under her proposed reforms, refugees in Britain who arrived on small boats will have to wait up to 20 years for permanent settlement and could be deported if the situation in their home country improves. Those with valuables will be forced to fund the cost of their own accommodation. The measures were announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer comes under pressure from surging popularity for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party. France 24 journalist Claire Paccalin takes a closer look at the issue and discusses her report from the UK on the deepening divisions within the country.