As MPs return to parliament on 1 September, home secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to announce stricter rules on asylum seekers’ families coming to the UK.
The announcement seeks to counter mounting rhetoric surrounding the so-called ‘small boats crisis‘. It also follows legal troubles around the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.
When somebody is granted asylum in the UK, then can then go through a further application process to allow their family to stay in the country as well. This is known as the ‘Family Reunion‘ policy.
However, Cooper will argue that Britain is now out of step with neighboring countries after changes to immigration laws in mainland Europe. The new rules will include be more strict on refugees’ English language abilities. They will also require that asylum seekers’ families have greater access to funds.
Hostile environment
The Labour Party’s hostile environment policies are already having terrible effects on asylum seekers’ wellbeing. These new reforms will only create further heartache and uncertainty. If you think that these changes will have a unfair impact on those most in need of asylum, you’re not alone. Jonathan Featonby, chief policy analyst at Refugee Council, highlighted that:
The immigration white paper proposed putting in financial and language requirements. Financial requirements for refugees who have been stuck in the asylum system unable to work, and language requirements for children escaping war zones…
This will either force families to stay split up, leaving thousands of women and children in extremely dangerous situations, or it forces them into dangerous journeys. Either way, this has terrible consequences.
In the year to June 2025, 92% of refugee family reunion visas were given to women and children. More than half went to children. Two thirds to people from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran and Sudan. It helps integration and provides a safe route. Family reunion should be easier, not harder.
— Jon Featonby (@jonfeatonby.bsky.social) 2025-09-01T07:09:03.125Z
A ‘tiny tweak’
As with much of Labour’s rightward shift, it’s difficult to tell who exactly these policies are aimed at. The home secretary will tell the Commons that:
Our action to strengthen border security, increase returns and overhaul the broken asylum system are putting much stronger foundations in place so we can fix the chaos we inherited and end costly asylum hotels.
Predictably, Tory shadow home secretary Chris Philip called Cooper’s plans a “tiny tweak”. He added that:
To be quite honest, people who cross the channel illegally shouldn’t be able to bring any family members over here at all… In fact, if the government was serious about fixing this issue, what they would be doing is making sure that everybody who arrives illegally is immediately removed.
On the one side, right-wingers like the Conservatives and Reform will always be ready to meet any small increase in stringency for asylum seekers with calls to deny all claims. Meanwhile, there are also members of the public who believe that we shouldn’t demonize families in need of shelter. These voters are left without a voice in their own parliament.
A ‘proud record’ on asylum seekers?
Critics focus on ‘illegal entry‘ to the UK, despite the fact that “safe and legal” routes are few and far between. Desperate people will continue to attempt the dangerous channel crossing if they have no other options. Asylum seekers will need to be housed in hotels if alternative housing isn’t available.
These issues will not go away on their own, but Labour is too cowardly to appear like they’re being soft on immigration, instead seeking lukewarm solutions like speeding up the appeals process.
Cooper insists that the UK has a “proud record of giving sanctuary to those fleeing persecution”. However, her actions show that these are empty words. There’s no pride in checking that a family has money before they’re allowed into the UK. There’s no pride in testing a somebody’s ABCs before they can rejoin their family. These aren’t the policies of a government that has any compassion in its heart for asylum seekers – but we’ve known this for a long time now.
Featured image via the Canary
