UK Protests Grow Over Weak Migration Policies, Rising Fiscal Burden

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party has faced sharp public criticism and protests over the government's unwillingness to stem increasing migration to the country.

Across the United Kingdom, the British public has taken to the streets to protest against illegal migration. Anti-immigration protests occurred in Greater Manchester, Norwich, Epping, Bristol, and Nuneaton between August 8 and 10.

Belatedly, the government has tried to dampen the criticism. It announced on July 23 sanctions targeting individuals involved in the illegal trafficking of migrants to the country.

The sanctions target individuals "at the heart of people-smuggling networks," the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a July 23 statement.

For critics, it is too little, too late. The sanctions will fail to "fundamentally shut the route down," Former UK Home Office Minister Tom Pursglove said in a July 23 interview with GB News. "The massive profits to be gained by smuggling migrants into the UK far outweigh the risk of sanction. They're not worried about being on a list of people who are sanctioned."

Increasing welfare expenditures have exacerbated public frustration with the government's inability to address illegal immigration . Official data on July 15 showed that one in six recipients of universal benefits are non-British migrants.

UK Sanctions Target 25 Individual Smugglers

The sanctions target 25 individuals involved in moving illegal immigrants into the UK. The individuals range "from a small boat supplier in Asia, to informal Hawala money movers in the Middle East, to gang leaders based in the Balkans and North Africa," the Foreign Office said.

They will target "any financiers and companies found to be enabling their activities," the Foreign Office said. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the sanctions as a "landmark moment in the government's work to tackle organized immigration crime."

Tom Keatinge, Director of the Royal United Services Institute's (RUSI) Center for Finance and Security, warned the Labour government against "overpromising" to the British public. The government has been unwilling or unable to resolve its mass migration problem.

US President Donald Trump described illegal immigration to Europe as a "horrible invasion." He made his comments in Scotland on a four-day trip in July.

Reform UK Party Is Most Trusted on Immigration

Illegal immigration has started to hurt the Labour Party's popularity. Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, has become the most trusted party on the migration issue.

An Ipsos poll showed that 16% of the British public "trust a great deal" in Reform UK's immigration policies, compared to 7% for Labour and 5% for the Conservatives.

Douglas Murray, a British author and journalist, has accused the government of cracking down on online content, rather than addressing the issue of migration.

"Citizens who have said nothing illegal are being visited at their homes by the police for tweets and Instagram posts," Murray told Sky News Australia on August 7. "It's a lamentable affair."

Individuals across the UK have faced suspension, pressure, and imprisonment over online comments and posts criticizing increased migration.

UK Budget Strained by Spending on Illegal Immigrants

Illegal immigration has started to strain government finances, a fact that has incensed the British public. A July 15 report by the UK's Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) detailed the number of immigrants receiving universal credit.

Non-British citizens represented about 1.3 million of the 7.9 million individuals on benefits, data in the report showed. Illegal immigrants get support for housing, their children, and childcare for people under the state pension age.

Welfare benefits account for the majority of the UK's annual budget. In the 2024/25 financial year from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, the UK spent an estimated £313 billion on welfare, compared with £297 billion in the previous financial year.

"The latest data goes completely against the lie we’ve been told for 25 years that immigration is fine because everyone’s working and everyone’s contributing," Farage wrote in a July 15 X post.

Parliament Member Describes Welfare Spending As ‘Crazy'

Member of Parliament and Shadow Spokesman on Home Affairs Katie Lam called the figures in the report "crazy."

These expenditures are part of "economically self-defeating decisions," Lam said during a July 26 interview with the UK's Spectator TV. "There is no way that we can afford that, it's just not possible."

Welfare spending will increase for 2025-2026 to £379 billion, a nearly £66 billion increase from the previous year’s annual budget.

A May Ipsos poll found 60% of those surveyed felt that welfare benefits were the top incentive for migration. Substantial welfare benefits provided to migrants were a significant factor for continued flows of immigration, Lam said.

"It may well soon be one in five or one in four migrants relying on a system set up to support other Brits when they've fallen on hard times," she added.

Labour Party Tries to Manipulate Public Awareness

Starmer and his government have received sharp criticism from the US over their handling of the issue.

University of Tennessee Law Professor and founder of Instapundit.com, Glen H. Reynolds, said the government is using authoritarian tactics to mitigate dissent. British censorship has allegedly targeted Coinbase COIN .

CEO Brian Armstrong claimed that local TV networks have banned the exchange’s latest advertising campaign in the UK." The ad depicts British people singing about the joys of daily life as they move through a caricatured, crumbling Britain.

"Any criticism of open borders, lax enforcement or — worst of all — immigrant crime has been punished as ‘racist' and ‘hate speech' by the Starmer regime," Reynolds said.

"The point of this isn't to reduce racism or hate," Reynolds wrote in an August 5 piece in the New York Post. The government wants "to make it harder for people to realize just how many of their fellow citizens feel the same way they do."

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This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.