IF YOU ever wanted proof that Britain’s political class has completely lost control of the immigration system, look no further than the latest ‘policy’ from Labour. Under plans released by the supposedly ‘hard-line’ Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, the government is considering paying families of failed asylum seekers up to £40,000 to return voluntarily to their countries of origin.

Yes, you read that correctly. £40,000.

People who enter Britain, who claim asylum, and have their claim rejected, who are found to have no legal right to remain in Britain, could now be handed tens of thousands of pounds in exchange for leaving the country.

This is not satire. This is Labour’s proposed response to the immigration crisis.

And the most astonishing thing about it is that nobody in government seems to realise what this will do. This proposal will not solve the asylum crisis. It will make it dramatically worse.

The moment you tell the world that if you come to Britain, claim asylum, fail that claim, and refuse to leave, you might still receive £40,000 to go home, you have created one of the most extraordinary pull factors imaginable: ‘Come to the United Kingdom. If things don’t work out, we will pay you to leave.’

You do not need to be an economist to understand what happens next. More people will come. Far more. On top of the nearly 200,000 who have already entered Britain illegally on the small boats since 2018.

This is the iron law of immigration policy that our elites refuse to accept: incentives matter. If a system seemingly rewards behaviour, that behaviour will increase.

And Britain’s asylum system is already bursting at the seams because for years it has rewarded the wrong incentives.

Think about the current reality. If you arrive in this country illegally, your current chance of being removed is 4 to 5 per cent. You are placed in taxpayer-funded accommodation. You are given financial support and healthcare. You know you’ll be drawn into a legal process, with free legal aid, that can take years to conclude, during which time you could work illegally.

Now add another incentive.

Even if your asylum claim fails – even if the British state concludes you have no right to remain – there may still be a huge reward at the end of the process.

A £40,000 exit package.

Read More – £40,000 bribes won’t solve the asylum crisis. They’ll make it far, far worse