SAMAJ WEEKLY UK
Bal Ram Sampla
Geopolitics
What is happening?
Every day, people from different countries try to cross the English Channel in small boats. They want to travel from France to the United Kingdom. This creates a big problem for both countries.
The “One In, One Out” Agreement
The leaders of the UK and France made a special agreement. The UK PM Keir Starmer and the French President Emmanuel Macron.
This agreement works like this:
1. France will take back some migrants who crossed to the UK
2. For every person France takes back, the UK will accept one person from France
3. But this only works for people who have family in the UK
However, this agreement is very small. Only about 6% of migrants can be sent back to France this way. That means only 50 people per week.
Why do people want to go to the UK?
President Macron says the UK has “pull factors.” This means there are reasons that make people want to go to the UK:
1. Easy to find work: People think it is easy to get jobs in the UK, even without proper papers ie doing deliveries like Deliveroo etc
2. Weak rules: Most people think the UK’s asylum system is not very strong
3. Family connections: Some people have family or friends in the UK
4. Generous benefit system.
The Blame Game
Macron has said that the UK is partly responsible for this problem. He wants the UK to make these “pull factors” weaker.
This means:
1. Making it harder for people to work illegally
2. Having stronger rules about who can stay
3. Better checks on people who arrive
Problems with other European countries
The agreement between the UK and France has made other European Union (EU) countries angry. Five countries (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, and Spain) are worried because:
1. If France sends migrants back from the UK, these people might then travel to their countries
2. They think this bilateral agreement is unfair
3. They want the whole EU to work together, not just France and the UK
Why is this a difficult problem?
This situation is complicated because:
1. Different laws: Each country has different rules about migrants
2. Numbers: Thousands of people try to cross each month
3. Politics: Each country wants to protect its own interests
Conclusion
The UK and France are trying to work together, but the problem is PM Starmer is very weak.
The migrant agreement with France is very unpopular, but it’s just one of many issues affecting Starmer’s ratings. Some of his bigger challenges appear to be domestic policies like welfare reform. While his position is politically precarious, the structural advantages of a large majority and weak opposition make his removal before Christmas not impossible.
He is being ridiculed by the press, media and general public. The other problem, the Labour Party, lacks genuine contender to replace him.
References
1.what’s in the one-in-one-out migrant deal between UK and France?
https://aje.io/974dfs
2. Unauthorised migration: Timeline and overview of UK- French co-operation, research briefing, 6th July 2025
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9681/
3. https://www.gbnews.com/politics/politics-news-latest-emmanuel-macron-nigel-farage-keir-starmer-migrant-crisis
