Taking Back Control

An eye-opening account of how right-wing populists have captured the debate on asylum. Since the 2019 general election, Britain’s relationship to asylum has shifted dramatically. As successive governments have struggled to retain support, the rise of unscrupulous political entrepreneurs and clickbait media has brought openly repressive policies crashing into the mainstream. In Taking back control, Jonathan Darling tracks how this shift took place and exposes its devastating effects on British politics. Focusing on boats, hotels, barracks and removal flights, he shows how asylum seekers have been made a focal point for public resentment and how serious policy has been replaced with spectacles of performative cruelty. From proposals to install wave machines in the English Channel to the costly fiasco of the Rwanda plan, governments have flaunted international law and wasted millions in taxpayers’ money on schemes with no prospect of success. Taking back control explains how we got here while offering pathways to a more welcoming future. -- .