Innovation vs Rhetoric: designing & adopting alternative approaches to irregular migration in the context of populist & nationalist politics in the UK

This research will explore the development of innovative, humane approaches to irregular migration in the UK from 2018 to present. The inception, delivery and evaluation of recent pilots under the previous Conservative government have taken place against a backdrop of increasingly explicit appeals to anti-immigrant sentiment, populism and nationalism.

Despite successful demonstration of alternative irregular migration approaches, government policy (both Conservative & Labour) has continued to instrumentalise the Border Spectacle, the illegalisation of migrants, and the racialisation of immigration. This research will build on my Masters thesis as well as my experience of delivering one such 'alternative to detention' pilot in partnership with the Home Office and UNHCR.

This study will utilise primary research in the form of interviews with a broad range of stakeholders, including the target group, to provide in-depth knowledge of the subject matter. I will also conduct secondary research through analysis of pilot evaluations and government policy to understand evidence for alternative approaches and the rhetoric standing against their adoption.

This research will respond to the question 'In the context of increasingly populist, nationalist discourse, how is it possible to advance humane responses to irregular migration in the UK?'. By interviewing migrants and professionals who have participated in these pilots, this research will centre the voices of those with lived experience, bringing further insight into migrant sensemaking amidst contrasting public messages on migration.

While existing research addresses migrant illegalisation and the Border Spectacle globally, little attention has been given to the recent UK context. As such, UK-specific dynamics have been insufficiently explored. Unearthing the underlying dynamics driving UK immigration rhetoric and policymaking, this research will bring the Border Spectacle into the conversation, attempting to move beyond a highly polarised debate.

By analysing hegemonic rhetoric and the available policy options together with migrants' perspectives on these dynamics, this research will bridge the divides between rhetoric, systemic responses and lived experience. The insights brought by this new analysis could contribute to the work of policymakers by highlighting humane, pragmatic and evidence-based policymaking approaches to irregular immigration in the UK.

Methodologically, my research will contribute to the existing research by hearing from a broad range of stakeholders involved with alternative approaches to irregular migration in the UK as well as utilising a critical discourse analysis of recent political rhetoric on irregular immigration. By exploring the relationship between the current discourse, impact evaluations and migrants' lived reality, I will interrogate how evidence-based UK policy is.

By highlighting and analysing the discursive strategies employed in communicating immigration policy, the factors driving policymaking are revealed. To be successful, proposals for alternate approaches to irregular migration must engage with these underlying dynamics. By exposing the relationship or disparity between empirical evidence and subsequent immigration policy, I hope to enhance the effectiveness of advocacy and humanitarian efforts to uphold the rights of migrants and citizens alike.