Reform UK’s candidate for the 2028 London mayoral election, Laila Cunningham, has branded the bilateral migration deal between Britain and France “almost farcical”, arguing that the arrangement has comprehensively failed to reduce the number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats.
Deal ‘farcical’ as crossings persist
In an interview, Cunningham said the numbers had not fallen but were instead rising, and pointed to what she described as a fundamental imbalance in the agreement’s structure. “We’ve given France a veto over who they’re allowed to take, but we don’t get a veto over who they are allowed to take back,” she said, calling the asymmetry “actually quite embarrassing” for the United Kingdom.
Since January 2019, the UK has funded French operations to intercept migrants, a programme that, as of November 2024, had prevented more than 115,000 people from crossing, according to the UK government. A “one-in, one-out” returns pilot scheme was introduced with France in August 2025, under which the UK can return some small boat arrivals to France in exchange for accepting an equal number of asylum seekers from France. The UK has also agreed to substantial additional funding to strengthen French operations. Yet net migration to the UK reached a record high of 906,000 in the year ending June 2023, though figures for the year to June 2024 show a decrease. The Home Office is spending approximately £1.2 million annually on the purchase and maintenance of Channel rescue boats, a fleet that has aided over 70,000 small boat migrants since July 2024; a separate three-year deal for repairing other vessels costs taxpayers an extra £1.6 million.
The 1954 Refugee Convention: a legal shield
Cunningham argued that the central obstacle to effective enforcement lies in the 1954 Refugee Convention, the international treaty that governs how those crossing the Channel are classified. “You can’t call them illegal migrants because they’re refugees,” she stated, explaining that the convention stipulates that individuals cannot face punishment based on their method of arrival. Asylum seeker status is granted immediately upon claiming refuge: “You’re an asylum seeker as soon as you land, as soon as you state the word asylum,” she said.
The convention’s impact on asylum claims is profound. Cunningham highlighted the high rate at which claims are being approved, asserting that this explained why processing backlogs had diminished. “What is the acceptance rate for Afghanistan? I have it right here, it’s over 80 to 90 per cent,” she said. Data from the UK government, however, shows a dramatic decline in acceptance rates for Afghan claims: in 2022 the rate stood at 98 per cent, but by the year ending December 2025 it had fallen to 34 per cent. The drop has been attributed to more stringent eligibility criteria and a reassessment of the security situation in Afghanistan. Amnesty International UK has criticised the trend, stating that Afghan women are being denied asylum despite the recognised brutality of the Taliban.
Cunningham contended that successive governments have prioritised international partnerships and global treaties over the welfare of British citizens. She argued that both the 1954 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights are “not compatible with the safety of women and girls in this country or the safety of this country in general”. Reform UK, she said, is the only party willing to withdraw from these longstanding international frameworks.
Reform UK’s plan: detention and deportation
The mayoral candidate outlined her party’s proposed approach to those who arrive without authorisation: immediate incarceration followed by removal from the country. “If you land on our shores, you will be detained and deported. Simple as that,” she stated. She pledged that Reform UK would rapidly construct detention facilities, whether located domestically or offshore, and criticised the current system that permits arrivals to move freely while their identities remain unverified.
Cunningham also took aim at the treatment of rejected applicants, noting that only one in six unsuccessful claimants are actually removed from Britain. “Even failed claims do not get deported,” she said, adding that these individuals continue to receive accommodation funded by taxpayers. The message, she concluded, must be unambiguous: “They need to know that if they arrive on our shores, there is no hope for them to get anything from this country.”
Cunningham, who was elected as a Conservative councillor for Lancaster Gate on Westminster City Council in May 2022, defected to Reform UK in June 2025, citing the Conservatives’ perceived failure on taxation and immigration. She was announced as the party’s candidate for the 2028 London mayoral election in January 2026. In other public comments, she has been a vocal critic of face coverings, stating that women wearing the burqa should be subject to stop and search, and that in an “open society” no one should cover their face. She has also criticised British policy on visas for Pakistan.
A Home Office spokesman said: “After record high levels of migration under the previous government, net migration has fallen by 82 per cent. Whilst holding a sponsorship license is no guarantee of a visa, we will never tolerate abuse. That is why we have tightened requirements, including doubling the length of time employers who commit repeat offences are prevented from sponsoring workers. Meanwhile, skilled sponsor revocations are up, more than 100 occupations have been cut from overseas recruitment access and the skilled salary threshold raised.”
