A petition to stop asylum seekers from getting benefits has passed a major milestone. After surpassing 125,000 signatures, the document, which calls for the cessation of “financial and other support for asylum seekers,” may trigger a parliamentary debate. It reads: “This petition is to advocate a cessation of financial and other support provided to asylum seekers by the government. This support currently includes shelter, food, medical care (including optical and dental), and cash support.
“I believe that such provisions may inadvertently incentivise illegal migration, particularly via the English Channel. This petition is to urge the Government to discontinue these support measures and payments.” The deadline to sign it is June 20, after it has been live for six months. This is the case for all petitions to Parliament. The Government responds to all petitions that get more than 10,000 signatures, and an update on the webpage reads: “Waiting for 3 days for a Government response.”
On Monday, the Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan, Harriet Cross, told the House of Commons: “New research shows that foreign nationals are claiming almost £1 billion in benefits each month. We now face the highest asylum claims ever recorded, up another 9% since Labour took office.
“Meanwhile, [the] 42,000 appeal backlog at the end of 2024 is projected to more than double to almost 100,000 by the end of this year and the Home Secretary herself has admitted to the media that her White Paper would cut immigration by just 50,000. This is utterly inadequate.”
She added: “Without real deterrence and stricter measures, the visa processing delays will only worsen, so will the minister commit today to two concrete measures – first, implementing the previous Conservatives’ £38,000 threshold and introducing a legally binding annual migration cap that actually delivers accountability?”
Labour migration minister, Seema Malhotra, said Ms Cross’s question was “yet another example of the Opposition wanting to rewrite history”.
She added: “They quadrupled net migration to record levels, and she will indeed want to correct her facts I think on the immigration White Paper which will be reducing net migration by considerably more than she suggested, and indeed, what the Home Secretary has also said – now indeed, the latest figures show that since this Government came to power, almost 30,000 foreign criminals, failed asylum seekers and others with no right to be in the UK have been removed.”
Parliament’s website says: “Petitions which reach 100,000 signatures are almost always debated. But we may decide not to put a petition forward for debate if the issue has already been debated recently or there’s a debate scheduled for the near future.
“If that’s the case, we’ll tell you how you can find out more about parliamentary debates on the issue raised by your petition. MPs might consider your petition for a debate before it reaches 100,000 signatures.
“We may contact you about the issue covered by your petition. For example, we sometimes invite people who create petitions to take part in a discussion with MPs or Government ministers, or to give evidence to a select committee.
“We may also write to other people or organisations to ask them about the issue raised by your petition.”
