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So, as we all now know, Donald Trump is again going to be the US President – only the second US President ever to be elected for two non-consecutive terms. . That’s quite an achievement, and pub quizmasters here in the UK will no doubt have to update one of their favourite obscure questions about American politics.
Among the chattering classes and the (repeatedly wrong) pollsters, there’s been much debate and gnashing of teeth, about why Kamala Harris lost in a landslide, including the popular vote, to the man so viscerally despised by the left and liberal elite. How could someone as supposedly “mature” as Harris end up losing to someone her followers called “a fascist” and “convicted felon,” who they saw as the antithesis of all that the Left holds dear?
The US election is a strong reminder that, despite all the theatrics, politics is still about policies. The US people rejected the politics of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). They firmly said no to climate absolutism and embraced Trump’s vision of a better future – more in their pocket, a fairer share of the spoils, getting on top of crime and plugging the holes at the southern border, as well as dealing with the bloated, inefficient bureaucracy. Will he succeed? Time will tell but as important to note is that these are the issues the people want him to tackle.
Let Trump’s victory be a salutary warning to our politicians
For us, the lessons of the US election result, which we at MW expected all along, are straightforward. Politicians ignore the wishes and concerns of the people at their peril. Do it and the backlash will inevitably come, as it has in Europe and Canada – and now America has added its own example.
Sir Keir Starmer should take heed: the Labour Party’s current approach to immigration is among the weakest in Europe. Starmer opposes capping legal migration and has no robust plan to deal with the majority of illegal arrivals from places like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. His policies on asylum, where he will in essence provide unofficial amnesties, are not a deterrent and repeat mistakes of the past, here and in neighbouring states – like Spain, Italy and France. Each time amnesties were declared, the number exceeded the previous one.
Sir Keir’s cancellation of the Rwanda plan was a blunder that removed the one potential deterrent. His flailing about to find alternatives are pitiful. The announcement a few days ago of an agreement with Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia to exchange intelligence is little more than admission of failure. It will contribute little to stopping the boats. The new Border Security Command, even with some increased funding, will prove as ineffectual as the previous attempts at drawing together agencies under a former senior military man.
The underlying problem? The government’s commitment to border control and tackling runaway legal migration is flimsy at best. They won’t cap legal migration, nor will they amend the Human Rights Act to enable a swift policy of detention and removal. Labour understands that immigration is a flashpoint for voters, so they’ve assembled a set of token policies to create headline appeal without meaningful change. The plan seems to be to keep the public distracted with surface-level moves rather than full commitment to tackling both legal and illegal immigration. This is a major reason for the distrust in both the major parties today, especially on immigration. As The Who’s Roger Daltrey famously sang, “We won’t get fooled again.” And if America’s latest election is any indication, the British public will be just as unwilling to be “fooled again” come the next election.
This is a preview of Migration Watch’s free weekly newsletter. Please consider signing up to the newsletter directly, you can do so here and will receive an email copy of the newsletter every week as soon as it is released.