How 8 tough laws implemented by Left-wing Danish government slashed asylum bids by 90% – so will Starmer follow suit?
LABOUR is looking to Denmark for inspiration to tackle illegal migration as the number of small boat arrivals here soared to 9,000 so far this year.
The Scandinavian country is a model of how a left-wing government can get a grip on the burning issue of the day.
Hardline policies adopted by the main Social Democrat party stopped a feared political surge from right-wing politicians.
Kaare Dybvad Bek, Denmark’s Minister for Immigration and Integration, says: “What we stand very hard on is we don’t grant migrants the right to stay.
“If you’re rejected as an asylum seeker, you have a very low possibility of staying in Denmark.”
His country has seen asylum applications plummet by almost 90 per cent over the past decade.
Requests to Denmark peaked at 21,316 in 2015. Last year, they dropped to 2,333 — while the UK total hit a record 108,138.
They got results with a series of tough measures which would cause uproar among left-wing members of the Labour Party. These include:
- Failed asylum seekers cannot get benefits and are only given food.
- They usually have to stay in return centres where they cannot work or study while they await deportation by the Danish Return Agency.
- The Danish border force has powers to confiscate items such as jewellery and watches from migrants to help fund their asylum costs.
- Refugees who visit their home country have their residency revoked, while those who return voluntarily can claim £4,500.
- If the situation improves in their country of origin, such as Syria, refugees face losing their residency.
- In Kosovo, 300 jail cells are rented for inmates set for deportation.
- A “ghetto law” allows officials to redevelop neighbourhoods with large numbers of “non-Western” residents. Some have been moved to other parts of the country in a bid to better integrate them into Danish life.
- A successful PR campaign has put off migrants from going to Denmark.
And unlike in the UK, Danish ministers are not afraid to discuss crime linked to immigrants.
They publish league tables of criminal convictions based on national origin, which have shown some communities have much higher violent crime rates than the native population.
Denmark also pursued a policy — like the last Tory government — of out-sourcing asylum procedures to Rwanda.
That plan is now on ice as the Danish government tries to get other EU countries to work together to create deportation hubs outside of the bloc’s territory.
Mr Dybvad Bek added: “Last year, we had around a million coming to Europe illegally. Two-thirds were migrants and only one third had an asylum claim.
“We need to put that process outside so that we can control how many we are taking into our countries.
“We need democratic control of migration.”
Sir Keir Starmer met Denmark’s PM Mette Frederiksen in Downing Street in February.
Ms Frederiksen is unusual among left-wing leaders, who usually shy away from tough immigration policies — but her party came to power in 2019 with a promise to clamp down on the influx.
She obliterated the populist Danish People’s Party, reducing their support from 21 to nine per cent.
Her government now pursues a “zero refugee” goal — and recently warned that mass migration is a threat to “daily life in Europe”.
Last year, Denmark granted a historic low of just 864 asylum requests — while the UK awarded nearly 68,000 in the year to June.
It’s a stark contrast even when you consider the UK population is ten times the size of Denmark’s.
Little wonder, then, that the Labour Government here is now looking at the Scandi country. And Mr Dybvad Bek revealed he is meeting soon with UK counterpart, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
He suggested Britain could look at the Danish Return Agency, which ensures failed asylum seekers leave.
He said: “This independent agency is measured by their ability to return people. They returned 95 per cent of cases voluntarily.
“For rejected asylum seekers, it is really effective. I believe that any country could implement it.”
Ms Cooper is understood to be looking at how Danish courts apply Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The “right to a family life” has been used repeatedly to block deportations from Britain.
‘There was a shooting’
Cases include an Albanian criminal who won the right to stay after claiming his son did not like foreign chicken nuggets.
But Mr Dybvad Bek said: “We have the same problem. The PM is dedicated to gathering EU countries to change this policy.
“We have some really violent criminals that we are trying to get out of our country because they are citizens in other countries, but we can’t do it because of Article 8.”
Mr Dybvad Bek fumed that in one case a man had been convicted because he was violent towards his family, but was allowed to stay by claiming the right to a family life.
Denmark does not have the same appeal to migrants, unlike the UK, where they can eventually apply for generous state benefits or turn to black market work.
Danish ministers argue that working-class communities are most impacted by immigration, and by slashing it they can protect the welfare system and jobs.
Mr Dybvad Bek said their policies have helped people living in housing estates where the pressures of immigration were felt most.
Tastrupgard, outside Copenhagen, is a social housing area being overhauled under the government’s “ghetto law”. When the Sun on Sunday visited this month, modern blocks were being built as locals spoke out in favour of the policy.
Bibi Haider, 32, a social worker, said: “Many years ago, it was very bad here, there was a shooting. It’s not like that now.”
We need to fundamentally re-order the British state because people are sick of electing governments who aren’t able to act in their interests.
Labour MP Jonathan Brash
Pernilla Hummelsberger, 39, who grew up nearby, said the move had improved the area.
“It takes time,” she added. “The ghetto problem was really bad.”
Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I think a lot of the gang industry is hidden now. It’s very quiet these days.”
Mjolnerparken is a neighbourhood in the capital being overhauled by the ghetto plan.
Ronni Abergel, 52, said: “It’s helped as the whole atmosphere of the housing area is better.”
But some residents claim the ghetto policy is “racist”. Inge Hopps, 36, said: “I think it is a crazy policy to have. It’s super-extreme.”
Labour MP Jonathan Brash said: “We need to fundamentally re-order the British state because people are sick of electing governments who aren’t able to act in their interests.
“Whether it’s activist lawyers stretching the interpretation of Article 8 of the ECHR, or the Sentencing Council thinking it can dictate to ministers or, dare I say it, the OBR dictating fiscal policy, it has to end.
“It’s time we wrestled back control of our country for our country.
“So, yes, looking to countries like Denmark, who have done this successfully, is a sensible move and one I hope ministers adopt.”