A Labour source told LBC that “the scale of illegal migration is placing huge pressure on communities”.
LBC can reveal that the government is planning to roll out a communications and marketing campaign in foreign countries to discourage “illegal migrants thinking of coming to Britain”.
The strategy will highlight the stringent changes to the system set to be announced by the government, including a 20-year wait for those granted asylum to settle permanently, as well as refugees being returned if their home country is deemed safe.
A Labour source told LBC: “The scale of illegal migration is placing huge pressure on communities”.
They added “It will be a simple message: it is not worth coming here because we have removed your golden ticket.”
It’s a policy idea largely inspired by the Danish government, who have taken one of the strictest immigration stances on the continent.
Copenhagen-based broadcaster and columnist Anne Sofie Allarp told LBC that the Danish Social Democratic government currently puts “adverts in the newspapers of Middle Eastern and North African countries saying ‘please do not come to Denmark’”.
Michala Clante Bendixen, founder and head of Refugees Welcome Denmark, told LBC: “If the UK wants to reduce new arrivals, it might be efficient on a short distance to make permits temporary and push access to British citizenship into a remote future. But it comes at a very high cost in the long term.
“In Denmark, integration has been very successful, despite most politicians constantly talking about it as a failure and shaming Muslims in particular. A combination of demands and offers to newcomers has proven to be efficient.
“A vast majority of refugees do learn our difficult language, find jobs, pursue education and adjust to Danish culture and norms. They contribute to Danish society, where we are in desperate demand of labour and young people, as well as to our culture. But this process requires time and motivation.”
Successful asylum claims in the Scandinavian country have hit a 40-year low, with just 860 requests granted last year.
Likewise, the number of asylum applications has been diminishing, and has decreased by almost 90% over the past decade. In 2024 there were 2,333 claims in Denmark, compared with over 108,000 in the UK.
Labour claim that the sweeping reforms “will remove the incentives that draw illegal migrants to Britain, and scale up the removals of those that have no right to be here”.
