On Monday, 12 May 2025, the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer unveiled a new White Paper setting out proposals for future immigration legislation. This White Paper is not yet a legal document; but the proposals are concerning for us the African Rainbow Family and the LGBTIQ+ people seeking asylum and refugees that we serve (Siblings).
The proposals are set to cover all areas of immigration, including work, family and study. From changes to the skilled worker visa, the removal of the care worker visa and higher English language requirements. The time period for which people can apply for settlement in the UK is also set to double, from 5 years to 10 years.
At the Downing Street press conference, whilst setting out the government’s plans to reduce net migration, Starmer claimed that without stronger immigration policies the UK risks becoming “an island of strangers.”
Many MPs and members of the public have highlighted how the language used in this speech echos that of former Conservative MP Enoch Powell in his 1968 “rivers of blood speech.” Starmer and members of his cabinet have since rejected these comparisons. Thus, demonstrating their unawareness of how the language they use may affect people seeking asylum and refugees.
Reacting to Starmer’s UK: “an island of strangers” claim, our Founder and CEO, Aderonke Apata says:
“This type of dog-whistle rhetoric risks creating a toxic environment where hatred and racism flourish. How soon did we forget the widespread national attacks within our communities in the summer of 2024! The Prime Minister’s claim appears to not being short from the continuation of “the politics of race and immigration [that are] intertwined with one another to the extent that during the period 1950-1981, every single piece of immigration or citizenship legislation was designed at least in part to reduce the number of people with black or brown skin who were permitted to live and work in the UK” and that “Major immigration legislation in 1962, 1968 and 1971 was designed to reduce the proportion of people living in the United Kingdom who did not have white skin,” according to the government’s 26 September 2024 published Independent Report: The Historical Roots of the Windrush Scandal.” Aderonke continues.
Details of the Historical Roots of the Windrush Scandal Independent Report can be found here.
We, at the African Rainbow Family are appalled and outraged at the use of this language, and we are concerned about what the future holds for our Siblings, and the many other people who come to the UK to seek sanctuary.
We urge the government to remember how LGBTIQ+ people are persecuted in their home countries and come to the UK for safety. We ask the government to consider how this rhetoric will only amplify the anxiety of the asylum process for our Siblings.
We are entering a period of uncertainty, and we will continue to stand in solidarity with our LGBTIQ+ Siblings and all others seeking safety.
The government has also announced that it will publish further changes to the asylum system and border security this summer, in line with the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill which is currently progressing through Parliament. You can read our take on the Bill here.