Keir Starmer
Prime Minister · 2024–
In one sentence
Voted against every enforcement bill, cancelled Rwanda on day one, and bound the government to the ECHR.
TheyWorkForYou's long-run score is blunt: Starmer 'generally voted against stronger laws and enforcement of immigration rules.' He voted no on the Illegal Migration Bill's third reading and against the Rwanda Act. As DPP and as a barrister he spent a career in the human-rights system that now blocks removals. Day one as Prime Minister, 6 July 2024: Rwanda is dead. The Border Security Act 2025 repealed the Rwanda Act and the core of the IMA. He appointed Richard Hermer, who told the Council of Europe the UK will 'never withdraw' from the ECHR or refuse Rule 39 orders. Later he asked for a 'modernised interpretation' of the Convention — reform, not exit. Small boats: 41,472 in 2025, the worst year since 2022. A France deal returned about 4% of arrivals. Net migration did fall, mostly on Sunak's 2024 visa rules which Labour kept.
It's a gimmick. It's built on sand. It isn't going to work.
What they did
2013–2016 / career
Human-rights lawyer, DPP
Professional formation in the HRA/ECHR system. Later reporting linked him to interventions alongside Liberty and Amnesty in soldier-related cases. He then put a fellow human-rights silk in as Attorney General.
2021–2024
The opposition votes
No on NABA (8 Dec 2021). No on IMA third reading (26 Apr 2023). No on Rwanda. Absent for several NABA clause votes. The pattern is not accidental.
6 Jul 2024
Rwanda cancelled
First press conference as PM. Yvette Cooper told Rwanda on 22 July the partnership was over. Treaty formally ended 16 March 2026. Four people had gone, all volunteers. Cost: hundreds of millions.
2025
Repeal, not replacement
Border Security Act created a command and gang offences, and deleted the deterrent legislation. Crossings in 2025: 41,472. France returns: ~1,100 in nine months.
2025–2026
ECHR: stay, reinterpret
Rejected Conservative and Reform pledges to leave. Joint article with Denmark's Mette Frederiksen asking to 'modernise' interpretation. That is the ceiling.
How they voted
Blocked it / opened it means they voted against tighter rules, or for the Human Rights Act. Backed it means they voted for a tightening bill.
| Bill | What they did | Note |
|---|---|---|
NABA 2022 2022 | Blocked it | Voted against the bill's changes, 8 Dec 2021. |
IMA 2023 2023 | Blocked it | Third reading, 26 April 2023. |
Rwanda Act 2024 2024 | Blocked it | Labour whip. Called it a farce and a gimmick. |
Border Security Act 2025 2025 | Aye | His bill. Repealed Rwanda Act and IMA core. |
Sources: TheyWorkForYou; Hansard; Full Fact Rwanda tracker; Home Office boat stats