We can’t pretend everything is OK: knife crime, anti social behaviour and people smugglers are plaguing our streets
Labour's new Home Secretary vows to get tough on borders and crimes as she warns 'we cannot pretend everything is OK'
Two weeks ago, the country voted for change. Now we are determined to get on with it.
Britain is a fantastic country – at our best we are respected and admired the world over.
But we cannot pretend everything is OK.
Not when so many young lives are lost to knife crime.
Not when too many neighbourhoods are plagued by anti-social behaviour.
Not when so many high streets are hit by a shoplifting epidemic.
And not when criminal gangs are making millions out of dangerous small boat crossings that undermine our border security and put lives at risk.
That is the legacy of Tory failure we are dealing with.
It can’t go on. That’s why the newly elected Labour Government is moving so fast to get on with the job.
We know this means hard graft not sticking plasters and it will take time to turn things round.
But Keir Starmer has made clear that politics has to be about serious public service again – whoever you voted for in the election, we want to work with you to renew Britain’s future.
As Home Secretary, I am leading the work on two important Government priorities: boosting our border security and taking back our streets.
Within days of the election we began recruitment for a new Border Security Command with hundreds of new cross-border police, investigators and prosecutors, to work not just here but across Europe, to go after the criminal smuggling gangs upstream.
The King’s Speech included plans to give them tough counter terror powers to crackdown on smuggler gangs and their supply chains, to stop boats before they reach the French coast.
I’ve met with Europol and we are already sending more British officers to work with them pursuing gangs across the continent.
We’ve inherited a difficult summer with record numbers of crossings already this year, and we know tackling the problem will take steady hard graft not gimmicks.
The Conservatives’ costly Rwanda Migration Partnership has been running for two years, costing hundreds of millions of pounds to send just four volunteers.
Meanwhile the asylum system is in chaos – the backlog has soared with thousands of people in costly hotels, and the number of enforced removals is down by a staggering 50 per cent in the past decade.
The previous government’s preoccupation with Rwanda and headline chasing meant they didn’t do the hard work needed to sort out the basics and the chaos just got worse.
I was shocked to discover the Conservatives had 1,000 civil servants working on the Rwanda Partnership.
Not any more.
We’ve moved staff instead into a new Returns and Enforcement programme to increase returns of those with no right to be here and to make sure rules are respected and enforced, starting with an increase in illegal working raids.
We’ve directed Immigration Enforcement to intensify their operations over the summer, with a focus on employers who are fuelling the trade of criminal gangs by exploiting and facilitating illegal working here in the UK – including in car washes and in the beauty sector.
And we are drawing up new plans for fast track decisions and returns for safe countries.
Most people in this country want to see a properly controlled and managed asylum system, where Britain does its bit to help those fleeing conflict and persecution, but where those who have no right to be in the country are swiftly removed.
For far too long under the Conservatives, we have had just costly chaos – that has to change now.
On crime and policing, we’ve been determined to hit the ground running too.
The King’s Speech sets out plans for stronger laws on knife crime, anti-social behaviour, off-road biking, shoplifting, spiking and violence against women and girls.
Alongside new powers, we’re working on plans for new youth hubs to give our young people a brighter future
In too many communities, there is a sense that respect for law and order has been undermined.
That’s why I’ve met with police chiefs from across the country to set out how I want us to urgently work together to boost neighbourhood police.
We need officers and PCSOs back on the beat, working right at the heart of communities to keep people safe.
Security is the first duty of any government.
As Home Secretary, I will work with everyone to keep communities safe, ensure borders are strengthened, criminals face justice, victims are protected and fair rules for all.
This is a chance for all of us to come together to keep our communities safe.
That is Britain at our best.
