The commentator from GB News, who used to be the Editor of The Sun, is quite skeptical about why the Labour Party has suddenly decided to get tough on illegal migration. He thinks it’s a cynical move driven by politics rather than genuine concern.
For the past 30 years, since the time of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Labour has been in favor of allowing large numbers of people from poorer countries to come to the UK. But now, they’ve done a complete U-turn and are talking about deporting illegal migrants.
The commentator believes this sudden change has nothing to do with a newfound dislike for migration but everything to do with the latest polls. Nigel Farage’s Reform Party is currently at 25% in the polls, while Labour is at 24%. The Prime Minister seems to have realized that his political survival is at risk if he doesn’t act tough on this issue.
Reform has been campaigning for years against the high levels of migration, both legal and illegal, and their message has resonated strongly with the white working-class community.
For a long time, no one in power listened to these concerns. Labour saw the newcomers as potential future voters, while the Conservatives, under leaders like David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson, were afraid that taking a strong stance on migration would be seen as racist.
But now, Labour leader Keir Starmer seems to have realized that if he doesn’t appear to be doing something about migration, he might only last one term as Prime Minister. So, this week, Labour is making a big show of how tough they are on the issue. The commentator thinks this is all nonsense and that people will see through it.
The first minister to jump on this new campaign was Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary. Over the weekend, he released new data showing that in 2016, the UK hired 3,413 doctors from outside Europe, and by last year, that number had grown to 16,913. Meanwhile, the UK only produced around 9,000 doctors in 2024. Most of these foreign doctors come from countries like Pakistan, Egypt, and Bangladesh. Streeting said that Britain had been too quick to rely on immigration in the past. The commentator finds this surprising, as Streeting had never mentioned this line before. He thinks Streeting might feel his political career is over, so he’s taking a swing at foreign doctors because he has nothing to lose. The real issue, according to the commentator, is that it’s cheaper for the UK to import doctors than to train its own.
This sudden shift in Labour’s stance is likely to upset another group: the white working class. They’ve seen their neighborhoods change dramatically, their local shops become unrecognizable, and their job opportunities shrink. They won’t like this sudden change of heart from Labour and will see it for what it is—political posturing. The commentator finds it laughable that Starmer and his Cabinet are trying to act tough on migration. He points out the numbers: recent statistics from Thames Water revealed that at least 1 in 12 Londoners is an illegal migrant. That’s over 500,000 people, and the actual number is likely much higher since the data is from 2019, and migration has increased significantly since then. If you extrapolate that number across the country, it could easily reach 1.5 million.
Despite this, Starmer has been boasting that 16,000 illegal migrants have been deported since he came to power. However, 8,000 of those people had actually asked to leave and just wanted a free flight home. The Times reported that Immigration Enforcement officers raided 828 businesses and arrested 509 illegal migrants working in places like car washes, nail bars, convenience stores, and as delivery drivers. While this is a step in the right direction, it’s just a drop in the ocean. It will be interesting to see how many of these people are actually deported, especially since countries like Afghanistan and Syria won’t take their citizens back. Plus, immigration judges often side with lawyers who come up with ridiculous arguments to keep their clients in the UK. For example, there was a case in The Telegraph where an Albanian criminal was allowed to stay because his son wouldn’t eat foreign chicken nuggets. The commentator jokes about this but points out how absurd the situation is.
He predicts that the number of illegal migrants in the UK—many of whom arrive by plane and simply overstay their visas—will continue to grow under Labour. He believes Labour’s tough stance is just for show and that the public, especially the intelligent working class, will see through it. The commentator concludes that this is all political posturing and that the numbers will prove it.
