If Labour wants to win on immigration, offshore processing could be the answer
Keir Starmer speaks ahead of the publication of the government’s Immigration White Paper, 12 May 2025 (Credit: Ian Vogler, Pool Photo / Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo)
3 min read
Keir Starmer’s speech yesterday on immigration struck a firm tone: no-nonsense, focused on control, and politically savvy.
But if Labour wants to do more than just neutralise the Conservatives on the issue, it must also confront the rise of Nigel Farage and Reform UK, who are winning the immigration argument not through policy brilliance but by appealing to something far more powerful – a sense of fairness.
Their message cuts through because it is simple and potent: why should people be allowed to jump the queue? Why are British people – whether it's those waiting for council housing, GP appointments, or jobs – expected to accept a system that looks increasingly out of control?
Unless Labour addresses this perception head-on, Farage will continue to set the terms of debate, and Labour will keep reacting to it.
Here’s the truth: the current asylum system is broken. The public can see it. Labour members can see it. Even many migrants know it. And much of that dysfunction stems from one outdated rule: the only way someone can claim asylum in the UK is by physically being on British soil. That legal quirk, embedded in the 1951 Refugee Convention, means that anyone hoping for sanctuary must first break the rules just to get here.
That is both dangerous and perverse. It fuels the small boats crisis. It enriches people-smuggling gangs. And it creates an optics disaster — one that leads many to believe our borders are not just porous but pointless.
But there is a solution. One that meets the challenge of restoring control while upholding British values of fairness and compassion. Offshore asylum processing.
This is not the Australian model, nor the cruel and unworkable Rwanda plan. I am proposing something more pragmatic and legally sound – reforming the rules so people can apply for asylum before reaching the UK, through British embassies or UK-run centres in agreed international locations such as northern France or transit zones in Africa.
This proposal, in fact, echoes one made by the French government to Boris Johnson in 2021: to create a legal route for people to claim asylum without having to cross the Channel. Johnson ignored it. Labour should not.
Such a policy would solve two major problems.
First, national security. By moving the asylum process offshore, identity checks, security vetting, and case assessments can all happen before anyone sets foot in Britain. That closes the current loophole in which individuals arrive without documents – some even deliberately destroying them mid-journey – and then vanish into the system. A pre-screening system removes that risk.
Second, optics and public confidence. The British public stop turning on the news and seeing dinghies landing on Kent beaches. The perception of chaos, which fuels Farage’s rise, is replaced by a sense that the UK has a functioning, fair, and firm immigration system.
This is also morally preferable. Those with a legitimate claim for asylum – people fleeing war, torture or political persecution – are protected through a safe and legal route. Those simply seeking economic opportunity are processed and, if they do not meet the criteria, turned away. The line between asylum and economic migration is drawn clearly – and fairly.
And crucially, this plan would destroy the business model of the smuggling gangs overnight. If safe legal access exists, the incentive to pay traffickers disappears. No market, no boats, no drownings.
Offshore processing – done properly – offers Labour a rare opportunity: to square security with solidarity, control with compassion. It is a policy that speaks to the centre-ground voter and the values-driven activist.
This is a moment to lead. The public want immigration handled competently and fairly. Labour should not be afraid to offer the big ideas needed to do so.
Matthew Torbitt is a former Labour adviser
