Starmer adopts the Danish migration model
The government of Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer will present a package of measures this Monday that tightens immigration policies, similar to those already implemented by the Danish Social Democratic government. The aim is to discourage illegal immigration by boat across the English Channel, through which an estimated 40,000 people enter each year, and also to increase the time required to obtain permanent residency from the current 5 years to 20. The mastermind behind the operation is the Pakistani Minister and a contender to succeed Starmer in Downing Street should he fall before the end of his term.
The situation in Great Britain is no different from that of the rest of Europe, including Spain and Catalonia. On the one hand, the aging population and low birth rate mean that all demographic growth comes from immigration, people willing to accept jobs that locals are unwilling to do and accept lower wages; On the other hand, this phenomenon produces social tensions that fuel the rise of the far right and xenophobia, to the point that Nigel Farage's Reform Party is currently the favorite in British polls. Farage, incidentally, was key to the "yes" victory in the Brexit referendum, a measure that was supposed to improve the economy and curb immigration, but ultimately has achieved neither. However, the Conservative Party's crisis has given Farage a new lease on life, and he is promising mass deportations in the style of Trump.
The fact is that a Starmer weakened by criticism of his leadership and by internal conspiracies within the Labour Party has decided to gamble his political future on a single card: tightening immigration policy to stem the flow of working-class votes to Farage. To this end, he has drawn inspiration from the Danish model of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who has restricted family reunification and taken steps to minimize asylum grants. However, it is interesting to note that Frederiksen's measures have had only relative success: the attempt to send asylum seekers to Rwanda failed, and the measure of confiscating immigrants' personal belongings to cover their living expenses has been applied only anecdotally: just 17 cases in six years. Nevertheless, the aim is to send a very clear message to those who might want to emigrate to Denmark: we don't want you here.
Is this the future of European social democracy? For now, both Spain and Catalonia are exceptions, but there is no doubt that the anti-immigration wave is permeating the left in Northern Europe, which is itself pressured by far-right populist groups that have managed to impose their agenda. But regulating immigration, something absolutely necessary, is one thing, and sliding into messages of rejection towards immigrants is quite another. The line is so fine that it is possible that in the end, the far right will be the one to benefit.
