Could Labour’s plan to ‘bribe’ asylum seekers to leave actually work?

Getting backbenchers in her own party to endorse her immigration reforms might be the easy part for Shabana Mahmood, as Sean O’Grady explains

Shabana Mahmood is one of the few prominent members of the Labour Party in the headlines for what she would consider to be the right reasons. Nonetheless, her new policies on irregular migration are controversial, and her latest proposal is perhaps the one that will provoke the most argument: she is now suggesting it could make sense to pay irregular migrants and particularly foreign criminals much more than the current rate of up to £3,000 for them to leave the country voluntarily…

What’s the idea?

It’s a foreign import itself – Danish, in fact – much like the rest of her new crackdown on so-called illegal migration. In contrast to Britain, Denmark gives migrants more than £20,000 to return whence they came.

Mahmood argues that it costs UK taxpayers about £30,000 a year to house and feed an asylum seeker, and so increasing the incentive for them to leave would save public money. Similar logic applies to foreign criminals, who number about 10,000 – or 12 per cent of the total prison population in the UK.

Why can’t we just deport them without paying out bribes?

Because of established principles such as habeas corpus – the right to challenge the legality of imprisonment or detention – as well as more modern human rights legislation and international conventions. No one can be bundled onto a plane without some form of due process, unless you have a police state. The rule of law applies to all, even foreign criminals.

But Mahmood’s logic is impeccable?

Yes. A huge amount of money spent on administration and legal fees would be saved, and so-called asylum hotels freed up much more quickly if this idea were implemented promptly. Clearing the asylum backlog and emptying temporary accommodation sites that act as a focus for nasty protests would be a near-priceless political reward.

But logic is rarely a decisive factor in politics. A substantial body of public opinion would dispense with due process in the case of “illegal migrants”, as they are incorrectly termed, and those accused of crime in particular would be given no quarter. Unless Mahmood goes that far, she’ll need to make some political choices. Freeing up thousands of prison places and getting rid of the asylum hotels would be worth it, though.

What happens now?

There’s a row. She admits it “sticks in the craw” of taxpayers to pay those who shouldn’t be here in the first place, particularly at a time when taxes are going up. To see if the idea works in practice, the Home Office will set up pilot schemes. A wisely cautious approach.

What about the rest of her plan?

Provided she compromises on some of the harsher suggestions, perhaps by adding some “safe and secure” channels for genuine refugees, she’ll carry the majority of her party with her in parliament. Many Labour MPs – most, perhaps – have some reservations about the crackdown but they also face an angry and hostile electorate threatening to put Nigel Farage into No 10. Labour ratings as low as 15 per cent have concentrated minds.

How does she see it?

She says she doesn’t care if Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, commonly known as Tommy Robinson, welcomes her policy as a victory for “patriots”; her job is to defuse the issue and demonstrate control of Britain’s borders. Indeed, she enjoys taking the fight to the far right and Reform UK: “They’re making mischief, but it’s me that’s living now rent-free in their heads because I’m a politician that’s willing to both acknowledge a problem and have the solutions that are needed to fix it. They just need an issue to exploit.”

If Mahmood succeeds and somehow turns the tide on small boats, she’ll have done much to save the Labour government and further her own career.

What could go wrong?

People smugglers could tell migrants they are in for a win-win deal by crossing the Channel: asylum, and the right to work, if they are accepted, or thousands of pounds just to go away, if they are not.