Britain’s establishment is pretending for the umpteenth time to do something about the nation’s open borders.

This is good in that it demonstrates the government—now run by Labour, though much the same when ‘managed’ by the Conservatives—knows just how angry the public is about mass uncontrolled immigration. But it is almost certain not to result in any actual change.

Indeed, it would not be surprising if the plans didn’t go forward at all, given the scale of backlash from Labour’s own back benches, even before Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the details of the measures on Monday afternoon. “It doesn’t have to be like this,” said one MP. Another described the plans as “performative cruelty,” the first half of which is true.

They were complaining about Mahmood’s new migration policy, which includes making refugees who enter the UK illegally wait 20 years before applying for permanent settlement and forcing asylum seekers to use their assets, including jewellery, to pay for their support.

The home secretary also says the deportation of illegal migrants will be fast-tracked. But those in favour of controlling Britain’s borders were already criticising the government’s plans on Monday morning, warning that talk about overhauling the appeals system does not go far enough. Political professor Matthew Goodwin said:

If it was serious about reducing illegal migration, Labour would withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights, repeal the Human Rights Act and finally put Britons where they belong, which is first.

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has also mocked the plans, with Farage himself joking that “the home secretary sounds like a Reform supporter.”

It’s a shame that the Human Rights Act, ECHR and her own backbenchers mean that this will never happen.

By “this,” Farage was referring to reports that asylum seekers could be stripped of their automatic right to handouts.

Zia Yusuf, the party’s head of policy, also accused Mahmood of “lying” about Labour ‘removing or deporting’ almost 50,000 migrants since last year’s election. He stressed that “most of these people left voluntarily, many without the knowledge of the government,” adding:

Using the word “removed”—an active verb implying government action—is deliberate deception.

Migrant experts have also described Denmark’s migration system—on which Labour’s is largely based—as “underwhelming.”

Really not the best start, then. But Prime Minister Keir Starmer is bound to herald it as a great success, anyway.

The post Britain’s Latest ‘Tough’ Migration Plan Already Looks Doomed appeared first on American Renaissance.