As a Labour councillor who arrived in the UK as part of a refugee family reunion, I have lived the promise of Britain as a beacon of hope, fairness, and human dignity. My family’s story is one of countless others who found refuge here not through exploitation, but through legal channels that upheld the very values that make this country great: compassion, the rule of law, and a steadfast commitment to human rights.
That is why I am alarmed by Nigel Farage’s recent speech on migration. His inflammatory rhetoric risks tearing apart the fabric of our society. Farage’s proposals — tearing up the Human Rights Act, leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, and deporting people even to unsafe regimes like the Taliban — are not policies. They are a dangerous assault on the principles that define Britain.
Farage frames migration as an “invasion” and a “threat to public order,” yet it is his words that stoke fear and division. By calling for the immediate detention of all arrivals in military-style camps, stripping courts of their role in asylum claims, and promoting a “two-tier” system that privileges some lives over others, he is not talking about security. He is scapegoating vulnerable people to score political points. We know where this leads: rising hate crimes, fractured communities, and a Britain that turns its back on its proud tradition of protecting the oppressed.
The dangers cannot be overstated. Farage’s plan to suspend key human rights protections and pay despotic regimes to accept deportees would enable systems where torture and trafficking flourish unchecked. His casual dismissal of these risks, as if human rights were a zero-sum game, echoes some of history’s darkest moments. In today’s diverse Britain, this rhetoric doesn’t just target immigrants; it corrodes trust in our institutions and emboldens extremists. Left unchecked, it could provoke the very disorder he hypocritically warns against.
Labour has a responsibility to respond with courage and clarity. For too long, our party has hesitated to challenge the toxic framing of migration, allowing Farage and others to dominate the debate. We must not cede that ground any longer. Labour can deliver security without sacrificing humanity. That means smashing the criminal gangs who exploit desperate people, investing in intelligence and international cooperation to stop dangerous crossings, and strengthening safe and legal routes so that those with a right to protection don’t have to risk their lives. At the same time, we must make our asylum system faster and fairer, so that decisions are made swiftly and those who can rebuild their lives here can contribute fully to our economy and society.
Farage has laid bare his agenda: suspending human rights, introducing executive detention, and backing deals that would send people into danger. Labour must call this out for what it is — not patriotism, but a betrayal of British values. Let us reclaim the narrative with confidence and build a migration system that is tough on exploitation but true to our humanity. The Britain that gave my family refuge is worth defending: secure, just, and united.
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Ibrahim Dogus is a Labour councillor for Waterloo and South Bank in the London Borough of Lambeth, a local small business owner, and the founder of SME4Labour.
