According to the Labour Party website the Labour Party have achieved the following in their time in power:

Why Labour?

The protection of our borders is fundamental to the future of our country. We are committed to building on the progress we have made to create a system in which people can have confidence, which protects the security of the United Kingdom, prevents abuse of our laws, and is fair to both legal migrants and the British public. Labour is delivering the biggest shake-up to our border protection and immigration system in decades; the new Australian-style points based system; ID cards for foreign nationals; a new border force and high-tech system for counting people in and out of the country are part of a new system fit for the 21st century; built to benefit Britain.

Britain has a long tradition of providing a safe haven to those in need. We are proud of this history and we will continue to provide a place of refuge for the oppressed and those legitimately seeking asylum and the security of our care. We are steadfast in our determination to tackle the horrendous crime of people-trafficking and will continue to work both at home and with our European partners to end this horrific crime that trades on human misery.

Key Achievements:

* Asylum applications are at their lowest level for 15 years. The fall has been dramatic from over 80,000 asylum claims in 2000 to around 23,400 in 2007. Asylum intake is now less than a third of the level it was when it peaked in 2002.
* In 2007, we removed an immigration offender on average, every 8 minutes.
* A single border force to guard our ports and airports, with new powers and new technology.
* We have tripled the number of staff who work on border control, and enforcement of Britain’s border controls now starts overseas. Since January 2008, we check everyone’s fingerprint before we issue a visa. So far we have enrolled over 1,000,000 people and have matched over 10,000 fingerprints in connection with previous immigration matters.
* A new Australian-style points based system to ensure only those economic migrants who have the skills our economy needs can come to work in the UK.
* Since February 2008 rogue employers face civil penalties of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker they employ. Those found to have knowingly hired illegal workers can incur an unlimited fine and be sent to prison.
* Introduced compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals who come here to work or study.
* Ratified the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking, strengthening the UK’s ability to catch the criminals that exploit victims of trafficking and underlining our long-term commitment to tackle this horrific crime.

New Labour, your Britain:

Labour knows that we all want strong borders and a fair deal. That is why Labour is continuing to deliver the biggest changes to our immigration, citizenship and border security system for decades. Our changes include:

* New electronic border controls will be counting people in and out of the country by 2010
* In 2008 we activated powers to automatically deport foreign national rule-breakers, and we will expand our detention estate to lift the number of people we remove from Britain.
* We will introduce legislation to reform the immigration system and set out a new agenda of earned citizenship where the rights and responsibilities of becoming a British citizen have to be earned. This will ensure that only those who share our values can earn the right to stay by clearly spelling out the rights and obligations of legal immigrants to Britain, as well as the requirements for earning British citizenship – including learning English, paying tax and obeying the law.
* The new Migration Impacts Fund, that comes from an extra levy on new migrants as they enter the country, will support local services like health, police, and schools manage short-term pressures of migration.
* Enforcing strict penalties against immigrants or their employers if they break the rules, including the establishment of new partnerships between local authorities and enforcement agencies to gather intelligence, disrupt illegal activity and track down illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers.

Labour Party Asylum and Immigration Policy :http://www.labour.org.uk/asylum_immigration_policy

I would be interested to hear both positive and negative views on Labour’s Crime and Asylum and Immigration policies in the comments below?