Keir Starmer is under increasing pressure over the boat crisis in England, amid ongoing protests outside refugee centres. A majority of British voters believe he is not handling the issue effectively, a poll has found.
The Prime Minister and his Cabinet have introduced initiatives to speed up the asylum appeals process, aimed at speeding up the removal of people who have no legal basis to remain in the country.
However, former Home Secretary David Blunkett noted that the UK authorities have so far failed to present either a “comprehensive strategy” or a “clearly formulated position” to overcome the current situation.
Since January this year, an unprecedented 28,076 people have crossed the English Channel on small vessels, which is 46% more than the same period in 2024.
Protests outside refugee accommodation facilities continued over the weekend, with the government expecting further legal action over the use of hotel infrastructure.
Mr Blunkett, who has suggested a temporary break from international human rights agreements to resolve the crisis, said Sir Keir needed to take “radical” measures.
A YouGov poll for The Times found 71% of respondents thought the prime minister had done a poor job of accommodating refugees in hotels, including 56% of Labour supporters.
The survey, conducted August 20-21 among 2,153 participants, found that 37% of citizens view immigration and asylum issues as key national issues, ahead of the economy (25%) and health care (7%).
Blunkett told the publication: “The government's individual measures are certainly helpful, but they do not form a coherent approach or a consistent strategy.
“The complexity of the situation has reached a level where control is beginning to slip away. An additional set of measures is critically needed to restore control over both public debate and practical processes.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has rejected proposals to abandon international legal norms to resolve the crisis, describing the situation as “complex and multifaceted” with “no silver bullet”.
He told BBC Radio 4: “We need to remain committed to the European Convention on Human Rights.
“We should work with international partners to strengthen mutual support and jointly find solutions. At the same time, protecting the convention remains fundamentally important.
“It is necessary to address the systemic shortcomings that lead to the ineffectiveness of immigration procedures.”
He emphasized the need to address fundamental problems, including housing shortages and overburdened government institutions.
“All these issues require a balanced approach.
“Attempts by some politicians to find easy answers by shifting responsibility to migrants or their host communities only distract from the real work of reforming migration, asylum, health and housing systems.”
Official statistics released earlier this month recorded 111,084 asylum applications in the year to June 2025 – the highest annual figure since records began in 2001.
The increase in the number of applications comes as the queue for initial consideration has decreased to 90,812 cases by the end of June.
During the same period, 32,059 asylum seekers were staying in British hotels.
The Labour Party has committed to phase out such facilities entirely by 2029.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
