Why I called for tougher immigration controls in UK — Kemi Badenoch

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has publicly advocated for significantly tougher immigration controls in the United Kingdom, encompassing both legal and illegal migration.

In a piece published in the Daily Mail UK, Badenoch articulated her stance, emphasizing a need for “basic fairness” for British citizens.

“The issue of immigration is a simple one for the Conservative Party: we need to crack down on it in every form, both legal and illegal,” Badenoch wrote.

She argued that the current system appears to favour those who “jump the queue, who break the rules, who get into our country illegally but then denigrate our customs and our culture.”

Conversely, she stated, “those of us who work hard and do the right thing… are left footing the bill.”

Badenoch highlighted the well-known expenditure on housing asylum seekers in hotels but drew particular attention to a lesser-known issue: the provision of “indefinite leave to remain” for low-paid immigrants and refugees after five years of residency.

This status, she noted, grants them eligibility for the same benefits as British citizens, including social housing and Universal Credit, regardless of whether they have paid taxes or relied on state support during that period.

“To my mind, that is fundamentally unfair to all the hard-working Brits who have dutifully paid into the system – and I’m determined to stop it,” she asserted.

The Tory leader sharply criticized the Labour Government for its opposition to key immigration reforms. She specifically pointed to Labour’s rejection of the Deportation Bill last month.

This bill, Badenoch explained, would have introduced a strict cap on new arrivals, doubled the waiting period for immigrants to claim benefits from five to ten years, and extended the ten-year rule to those seeking British citizenship. Furthermore, the bill aimed to bar benefit claimants from gaining indefinite leave to remain and empower the government to revoke settled status from individuals who commit any crime.

“All in all, that Bill was designed to protect our borders and uphold fairness in our benefits system. But thanks to Labour, it was shot down,” Badenoch claimed.

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