THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Bal Ram Sampla
Geopolitics
The UK is facing a heated debate about illegal immigration. Thousands of people cross the English Channel in small boats every year seeking asylum. In 2025, numbers are rising again, with nearly 15,000 crossings by mid-year. This issue has become the top concern for British voters, with nearly half of the public saying immigration is one of the country’s biggest problems.
The government keeps promising to deport people who arrive illegally. But time and again, these deportations are blocked by human rights laws, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This has created massive frustration among voters who feel the government cannot control the borders.
What is the ECHR?
The ECHR is an international human rights treaty signed by nearly every European country after World War Two. It protects basic rights like freedom from torture and the right to family life. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg enforces these rules.
In the UK, these rights became part of British law through the Human Rights Act 1998. This means UK courts must follow ECHR rules, and people can challenge deportations if they believe returning them to their home country would violate their human rights.
How the ECHR Blocks Deportations
The ECHR can prevent deportations in two main ways:
1.Article 3 protects people from torture and inhuman treatment. If someone can prove they would face serious harm in their home country, they cannot be deported there. This has blocked deportations of people whose family members belong to banned groups or who might face persecution.
2.Article 8 protects family and private life. Even criminals have successfully used this to avoid deportation by arguing it would separate them from their children or partners in the UK.
The frustration comes from cases that seem extreme. Criminals who have committed serious crimes in the UK cannot be removed because judges decide their right to family life outweighs public safety concerns.
Recent Case
One recent case perfectly illustrates public anger. An unnamed Egyptian national who committed 19 crimes since arriving in the UK won his court battle to avoid deportation. The judge ruled that sending him back to Egypt would violate the ECHR because his father was a member of the banned Muslim Brotherhood extremist organisation, putting him at risk of persecution. The man also has mental health issues, which is why his identity remains protected.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This dangerous repeat criminal should be kicked out. He is attacking and robbing British citizens and has no place in this country.” But despite committing nearly two dozen crimes, the court decided his human rights trumped public safety. For many voters, this case shows exactly why the ECHR has become impossible to defend.
The Political Divide
1.Reform UK has the toughest position. They want to completely withdraw from the ECHR, repeal the Human Rights Act, and bring back mass deportations. They argue the only way to truly control borders is to tear up international treaties that prevent the government from acting. They also want to “disapply” the UN Refugee Convention.
2. The Conservatives are split. Some leadership candidates like Robert Jenrick have called for leaving the ECHR immediately, saying it has become a “criminals’ charter.” Others, like Kemi Badenoch, think the real problem is lack of political will rather than the ECHR itself. But the party generally supports either leaving or dramatically reforming the convention.
3. Labour and Keir Starmer are caught in the middle. Starmer has refused to leave the ECHR, saying he believes in the rule of law and international human rights obligations. But he also recognises public anger about immigration.
Starmer’s “Smash the Gangs” Strategy
Instead of “stop the boats” (the Conservative slogan), Starmer promises to “smash the gangs” that smuggle people across the Channel. His approach focuses on:
(1) Creating a new Border Security Command with hundreds of investigators
(2) Working with European partners, especially France, to disrupt smuggling networks
(3) Securing returns agreements so illegal arrivals can be sent back quickly
(4) Reforming how ECHR articles are interpreted to make deportations easier
Starmer argues leaving the ECHR would create huge problems. It would break the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland. It would damage relations with the European Union, which requires ECHR membership for security cooperation. And it would leave Britain without any codified human rights protections.
Why Starmer’s Strategy Is Struggling
The problem is that “smashing the gangs” does not address the fundamental issue. As long as the ECHR and asylum laws remain, people will still be able to claim protection when they arrive. Even if every smuggler is arrested, people will find new ways to cross.
Critics point out several failures:
(1) Boat numbers keep rising.
Almost 15,000 people crossed in early 2025, compared to 10,000 at the same point in 2024.
(2) Deportations remain difficult.
While Labour boasts about increasing returns, these are mostly failed asylum seekers from safe countries. People from war zones or dangerous countries still cannot be removed.
(3) The ECHR still blocks flights.
Any time the government tries mass deportations, lawyers file emergency injunctions with the European Court, stopping planes from taking off.
(4) Public confidence has collapsed. Starmer’s approval ratings have plummeted as voters see the same scenes of boat arrivals despite his promises.
Where This Leaves Starmer
Keir Starmer is in an impossible position. He cannot satisfy voters who want tough action on immigration while also staying within the ECHR and international law. His “middle way” of reforming how human rights are interpreted and targeting smugglers has not stopped the boats.
Meanwhile, support for Reform UK is surging. Recent polls show Reform neck-and-neck with Labour, with immigration as the number one reason people are switching parties. Nigel Farage’s promise of zero tolerance and mass deportations, even if it means leaving the ECHR, appeals to voters who feel betrayed by politicians who promise to control borders but never deliver.
Starmer faces a dilemma. If he continues with his current approach, the boats keep coming and Reform gains strength. But if he abandons the ECHR, he breaks his promise to uphold human rights and risks serious diplomatic consequences with Ireland, the EU, and the United States.
He is trying to reform international human rights law from within, working with European partners to give governments more freedom to deport people. But this is slow work, and voters are impatient. Many see his promises as empty words, no different from previous governments.
The Bigger Picture
The truth is that no government has found an easy answer to this crisis. The problem is not just about laws or political will. It is about fundamental tensions between national sovereignty and international obligations, between controlling borders and protecting vulnerable people, and between public demands for action and the reality of what is legally and practically possible.
Unless Starmer can dramatically reduce boat crossings soon, he risks being remembered as another politician who promised to fix immigration but failed. The pressure from Reform UK and the Conservatives to leave the ECHR will only grow louder, and Labour’s commitment to human rights may become politically unsustainable.
The debate about the ECHR is really a debate about what kind of country Britain wants to be: one that enforces its borders strictly even if it means abandoning international human rights commitments, or one that balances border control with humanitarian obligations, even when the results frustrate voters.
References
1.https://ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/does-the-european-convention-on-human-rights-stop-foreign-criminals-being-removed-from-the-uk/
2.https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/news/2024/10/26/the-case-for-leaving-the-echr/
3.https://www.ein.org.uk/blog/uk-and-echr-after-brexit-challenge-immigration-control
4.https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/immigration-and-asylum-party-positions
5.https://www.gbnews.com/opinion/keir-starmer-labour-party-immigration-uk
6.https://www.gbnews.com/politics/labour-keir-starmer-immigration-policies
