Migrants in northern France celebrating Labour’s landslide victory have given Sir Keir Starmer a nickname and have vowed to cross the Channel at the “first chance” they get.
Speaking to The Telegraph, some of the migrants welcomed the new government and said they would risk crossing to the UK in small boats as soon as weather permitted.
Sir Keir had vowed to scrap the Rwanda deportation flights on “day one” if Labour reached power.
Most migrants in the Grand-Synthe camp, near Dunkirk, were unaware of the results on Friday morning, but were delighted when told that Rishi Sunak would no longer be Prime Minister.
Amir, 23, a bean-seller from Kurdistan, said migrants had given Sir Keir a nickname that roughly translates as a man who works for refugees or workers.
He said: “We are calling him ‘Party Krekaran’ because we have heard that this guy is really helpful to the refugees.”
Amir added that he would make the crossing “as soon as possible” now Sir Keir was in power, adding: “It’s really good for us. We were really nervous in our countries to travel all the way here and get sent back.
“We no longer live in fear of them sending us to Rwanda. I’ve seen a couple of documentaries, and Rwanda is not the best place.”
Asked whether the result would make it more likely for them to make the crossing, he added: “Yes of course. I want to cross the UK as soon as possible. I was really sure that Rishi Sunak was going to lose.
Halmat Ali, 31, from Iraq paid £3,900 to a smuggler to facilitate the crossing to Britain. He said: “I like Labour government. I will cross at first chance. They give me hope. I will cross on Sunday when [the] weather is better.”
Home Office figures showed that a record number of migrants crossed the Channel in the first six months of the year, despite the supposed deterrent of the Rwanda scheme.
Some 12,901 people have reached the UK this year – up 17 per cent on last year and up eight per cent on the previous record in 2022.
At the start of his premiership, Rishi Sunak said stopping the boats was one of his five priorities. Announcing his resignation as Tory leader on Friday, he said: “I have heard your anger, your disappointment, and I take responsibility”.
As the rain poured in Northern France, a 48-year-old migrant from Turkey said he was happy Mr Sunak had lost, adding: “I don’t want to go to Rwanda. I want to go to England. New government makes me happy. When weather is good, we try. It’s difficult.”
On hearing that Mr Sunak had lost, Nally Hussain 25, from Kurdistan said: “I can’t explain how I feel, it’s so good. We are not stopping for new government.”
As Britain went to the polls on Thursday, Biruk Siyume, 17, who arrived in the camp after travelling two and a half years from Ethiopia to escape persecution for his Christian faith, said he would be “the first” to make the crossing to Britain if the Rwanda plan was scrapped.
He said: “It’s better [a new government]. I hope the Labour Party win. I’m excited about a new government. The first important point for me is the cancelling of [the] Rwanda plan.
He suggested “many people” would make the crossing on the day Sir Keir Starmer was elected but admitted that it would depend on the weather.
One volunteer from a major aid organisation visiting the camp said that he was not confident that a Labour government would impact migrants’ motivation to cross.
He said: “I’m not sure it will change anything about people’s ideas about crossing. We have to understand why they cross – it’s because they cannot get asylum in France. I don’t think they care about the elections. The conditions are much better in the UK than Europe for asylum seekers.”
Eve Marie Dubiez, 80, a volunteer for the organisation Amis, said: “They don’t see the nuances, because the structures and the government are still working for a while. Over time, when they have news from people being treated, then they will [go].”
Labour has promised to launch a new border security command to tackle the gangs behind the people smuggling, granting it new powers under counter-terrorism rules.
Writing for The Telegraph last month, Yvette Cooper, then the shadow home secretary, said new security partnerships with other European police forces would “stop the boats reaching the French coast in the first place and get smugglers behind bars”.
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