The Labour government may not like X these days but they have turned to another social media platform in their latest bid to smash the gangs and stop the boats. As of today, an official Home Office TikTok account will have the people smugglers quaking in their boots as it posts images of illegal migrants and foreign criminals being arrested, detained and deported.

What is a TikTok channel if not gesture politics?

Called ‘Secure Borders UK’, the TikTok channel’s mission statement is ‘restoring order and control to our borders’. It’s a similar refrain to the rhetoric deployed by Keir Starmer in May 2024 as he campaigned to become PM. In a speech that month he outlined how he would stop the boats. He also castigated the Tories for their attempts to curb illegal immigration. ‘We need to turn the page and move on from an unhealthy interest in gesture politics that has long defined this policy area,’ declared Starmer.

What is a TikTok channel if not gesture politics? The same goes for Starmer’s ‘One in One Out’ scheme, launched with such fanfare last summer. By the end of 2025, 193 migrants had been returned to France and 195 had arrived. You do the maths.

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