I voted against the Government’s Nationality and Borders Bill which seeks to implement a number of proposed changes to the UK’s asylum system. I am concerned that this Bill does nothing to address the system’s breakdown, which the Government has overseen since 2010. The number of asylum applications that received an initial decision within six months fell from 87% in 2014 to just 20% in 2019. This isn’t good enough. The proposed two-tier refugee system will also grant the Home Secretary the power to decide on asylum cases based on how someone arrives in the country, not on the strength of their claim. Labour will continue to campaign against the Home Office’s ‘hostile environment’ and call on the government to support applicants and restore the UK’s commitment to 0.7% international aid, so people are less likely to flee their own country because of poverty, war and persecution.