When the government introduced the Illegal Migration Bill in March 2023, it was immediately obvious that this – just like the Nationality and Borders Act – was just another attempt to make our asylum system more cruel. Despite the government’s claims that it brought this legislation to stop Channel crossings and save people’s lives, nothing in it will actually do this. Rather the opposite: the further criminalisation of refugees will only ever play in the hands of people smugglers, while it will do nothing to deter those desperate enough to risk their lives to come to safety. This is why I decided to focus my campaign efforts around the Illegal Migration Bill on safe routes for refugees to come to the UK to claim asylum; to show the government that there are alternatives; and to highlight that the horrific tragedies in the Channel are a political choice.

I firmly believe that we cannot shut the doors to refugees and everyone must be welcome to seek sanctuary on our shores. 

In November 2022, I tabled an Early Day Motion, calling on the government to create safe and legal routes for refugees. The motion was based on a policy proposal that was brought to my attention by two frontline organisations: Care4Calais, a charity working directly with refugees in France and the UK, and the PCS, a union working with Home Office employees. I know that these organisations are the experts, and that their proposals would be both compassionate and workable. Many of my parliamentary colleagues agreed. The EDM gathered the signatures of over 40 cross-party MPs.  

When the Illegal Migration Bill was tabled, I decided to bring the safe passage visa proposal back, but this time in the form of an amendment to the legislation. 

The way the proposal works is that refugees would make an application for a safe passage visa online. Documents would be uploaded remotely or, where this is not possible, applicants would be able to visit visa centres across Europe to have their biometrics taken. If successful, the applicant would be sent an electronic letter that they could use to enter the UK.

The visa is highly focused and would allow travel to the UK from Europe to make an asylum claim. It therefore differs from humanitarian visa proposals for which more extensive screening and processing would take place before the claimant can travel to the UK. As the safe passage visa holder would travel to the UK to lodge a claim here, most of the screening and processing associated with an asylum claim would happen as normal in the UK.

The amendment, tightly-focused on addressing the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Channel, Calais and elsewhere in Europe, would have created a ‘safe passage’ visa, which gives entry clearance to those already in Europe wishing to come to the UK to make an asylum claim. The Ukrainian visa schemes have been successful in preventing this group from using small boats to come here. I believe that we can learn from this and replicate it for others in need. This is what I had hoped to accomplish with the Safe Passage visa. 

Working once again with Care4Calais and PCS, the amendment secured cross-party support from a sizable number of my colleagues. I was also pleased to have secured the support form the Baroness Lister of Bursett, who agreed to table the amendment in the House of Lords, so that the arguments for safe passage were heard in both Chambers. 

Unfortunately the amendment was ultimately not successful because the government refused to back any actual solutions to the Channel crossings. For them, this is not about saving lives, showing compassion or even protecting our international reputation as a welcoming nation. It is simply about keeping people out – at all costs. It is frustrating that the government claims that those opposing their plans have no serious alternatives when I know that they exist, and that brilliant organisations are advocating for them. The government is just too stubborn to listen. But we will not give up. I intend to keep advocating for safe and legal routes in Parliament, and am looking forward to continuing the discussion with my colleagues in the Labour Party, too, to ensure that a future Labour government will make safe and legal routes a reality.