Former UKIP MP Douglas Carswell has predicted that even left-wing Labour MPs will campaign on deportation policies at the next general election.
Speaking on GB News, Carswell claimed these policies are now “mainstream” across the political spectrum.
“At the next election, you will have left-wing Labour MPs going into the election offering deportation,” he said.
“These ideas are mainstream. It’s what the country wants and they will happen.”
Carswell thinks left-wing Labour MPs will start backing mass deportations
GB NEWS /PA
His comments come as recent Home Office figures show a record 8,064 migrants have crossed the English Channel so far in 2025, with 656 people arriving in 11 boats on Saturday alone.
Carswell, who helped develop detailed immigration policy proposals, questioned which party could credibly deliver on these promises.
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“The question is, who credibly has the plan to deliver?” he asked during his GB News appearance.
His comments follow mounting pressure on the government over immigration policy, with the Home Office confirming that Channel crossings have reached their highest level for the first four months of any year.
The current figures are 41 per cent higher than the same point last year and 65 per cent higher than at this stage in 2023, according to analysis of the latest data.
The Labour government has pledged to implement “tougher enforcement powers” and increase deportations.
Douglas Carswell joined Steve Edginton on GB News
GB NEWS
Carswell criticised politicians for their vague definitions of British values, singling out former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
“There’s been no shortage of Blairite politicians, notably Gordon Brown, who’ve pontificated about British values,” he said.
He mocked typical definitions that rely on universal concepts.
“When you asked them what British values mean, they normally say it means fair play. Find me a country that says they don’t believe in fair play or they mean the rule of law.”
He also ridiculed characterisations of Britishness as “eating cucumber sandwiches and the parading around Buckingham Palace.”
“I think there is something distinctly British with British values and they’re not encapsulated by any of those verbose clichés,” Carswell added.
Carswell highlighted his own work on developing detailed immigration policies, suggesting he had gone beyond political rhetoric.
“I wrote milestones in order to come up with the granular detail of how you achieve this,” he explained.
His comments reflect growing public concern about immigration, with recent Home Office data showing legal migration applications have dropped by 37% following Conservative policy changes.
Despite this decrease, illegal Channel crossings continue to rise.
The Home Office has stated it will “stop at nothing to dismantle” people-smuggling operations.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has called the situation a “national disgrace,” claiming Sir Keir Starmer “has lost control of our borders.”