The government’s failure to curb illegal immigration is eroding trust in the state, according to Shabana Mahmood
British authorities are losing control over the country’s borders amid soaring illegal immigration, which undermines public trust, according to UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
The cabinet official is expected to deliver the warning at a summit with Balkan interior ministers in London on Wednesday, which will be focused on curbing migrant flows to the UK.
According to the excerpts of her planned speech, which has already been published by several UK outlets, Mahmood will point out that “the public rightly expect that their government will be able to determine who enters their country and who must leave.”
“Today, in this country, that is not the case,” she acknowledges in the pre-written address. “The failure to bring order to our borders is eroding trust not just in us as political leaders… but in the credibility of the state itself.”
Still, Mahmood stresses that the only way to rectify the issue is international cooperation, not “turn[ing] inwards,” with one way being the creation of “return hubs” for migrants.
On Tuesday, she announced that the government would raise the English-language requirement for migrants from a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) to A-level proficiency.
The UK has for years been reeling under the migration crisis, with government data showing 49,000 irregular arrivals in the year ending June 2025, up 27% from the similar period the previous year. Small-boat crossings accounted for 88% of these, up 38% year on year.
Amid what many see as the Labour government’s failure to resolve the crisis, large demonstrations were held across Britain last month as part of “Operation Raise the Colours,” with protesters waving St. George’s and Union Jack flags.
Meanwhile, support for the anti-immigration and EU-skeptical Reform party, led by MP Nigel Farage, has risen to 35%, with Labour and the Conservatives trailing behind at 20% and 17% respectively, according to a poll conducted by the BMG research company which was released last month.
