Migrants in northern France celebrating a Labour 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 a new government and said they would risk crossing the Channel in small boats as soon as weather permitted.
Sir Keir has 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 this morning. But when told Rishi Sunak would no longer be Prime Minister, they were overjoyed.
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 [Starmer] ‘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 Starmer is in power.
He said: “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 sending us to Rwanda. I’ve seen a couple of documentaries and Rwanda is not the best place.”
Asked if the result would make it more likely 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 $5,000 (£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 this year, despite the supposed deterrent of deportation to Rwanda.
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.
But announcing he was resigning as Tory leader today, Mr Sunak 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.
“I’m happy [Rishi Sunak is gone] why do they want to send refugees to Rwanda,” he said.
‘I don’t want to go to Rwanda. I want to go to England. New government makes me happy.”
Asked if a Labour government was likely to make him cross the Channel, he said: “Yes. When weather is good, we try. It’s difficult.”
On hearing that Sunak had lost, Nally Hussain 25, from Kurdistan said: “I can’t explain how I feel, it’s so good.
He added: “We are not stopping for new government.”
‘I’m excited’
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 cancel of [the] Rwanda plan.
“I’m happy and I’m excited.”
He suggested that “many people” would make the crossing on the day Starmer was elected but admitted that it would depend on the weather.
Asked if he was more likely to cross if the Rwanda plan was scrapped, he added: “I will be the first to go to the UK. My dream is the UK.
One volunteer from a major aid organisation visiting the camp said that he wasn’t confident a Labour government would impact migrant’s 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 [migrants] don’t see the nuances because the structures and the government are still working for a while.
“Overtime, 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 the organisation new powers under counter-terrorism rules to make an impact.
It also plans to allow officers to conduct stop and searches at the border, carry out financial investigations and issue search and seizure warrants targeting organised immigration.
Writing in The Telegraph last month, Yvette Cooper, the former 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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