Our Man in Westminster – Restoring Order at Our Borders

On 17th November 2025, the Home Secretary set out in a statement to the House of Commons entitled Restoring Order and Control, a set of reforms to the asylum and immigration system which will include measures such as; extending the time people have been in the UK to 20 years before they can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), ending automatic ‘Family Reunions’, and swifter refusals of claims without merit – amongst many other policies.

There is no doubt that these reforms are both vital and completely necessary and they have my full support. Britain has always been a compassionate country which has offered sanctuary to those who need it – whether they are fleeing natural disasters, wars, or famine. This was highlighted very clearly in the reaction Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine – many British people opened their doors and offered a home to people searching for safety. And we have seen similar policies with safe routes being opened for people who had helped our armed forces fleeing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Which is why I was also pleased the Government is looking to explore more safe and legal routes for genuine asylum seekers.

However, constituents contact me on an almost daily basis to raise their frustration with the situation regarding small boats and illegal migration, and I both understand and agree with many of their concerns. The numbers of small boats must come down to zero, we must work towards closing the asylum hotels, we have to break the trade of people smuggling by smashing the gangs, and most importantly it is vital that we get order back at our borders.

We have seen positive steps towards this – the asylum backlog is now down 18% and as a result 50,000 people who have no right to be here have been removed. This is huge progress but there is still work to do. The backlog of claims which was allowed to build up under the last Government has meant that legitimate cases have gone unprocessed – including NHS workers who have been unable to work as a result.

The slowing down of legitimate claims being processed due to the backlog is an issue that constituents have consistently raised with me since I was elected and for obvious reasons has only added to people’s frustrations at the state of our immigration and asylum system – which is why it is so vital we get these new reforms right.