LABOUR backbenchers condemned the party’s draconian asylum plans as not just “morally wrong” but “politically disastrous” today.

Refugees will have to endure two decades of limbo before they can apply to settle in Britain permanently under ruthless new rules, praised by far-right extremists Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and Reform leader Nigel Farage.

In a 30-page policy document titled Restoring Order and Control, the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the proposals as the “most sweeping asylum reforms in modern times.”

Under the changes, refugees will be deported once their home countries are deemed “safe” and those seeking asylum must reapply to do so every two-and-a-half years.

The document explicitly references deporting people to Syria, saying: “Should the regime change in their home country, our approach should change too.”

Ms Mahmood will seek to curb how the courts apply the European Convention on Human Rights to block asylum-seekers from using their rights to a family life to stop deportation.

“We do not currently prioritise the return of families,” the document said, indicating plans to ramp up the deportation of children.

Multiple attempts to appeal against refusals for asylum will also no longer be allowed under the proposals.

Separate reports suggest that the government will pile pressure on other countries to co-operate on removals, threatening a ban on visas from Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The changes have sparked uproar among Labour backbenchers.

Leeds East MP Richard Burgon said the approach “isn’t just morally wrong; it’s politically disastrous.

“Labour voters who have abandoned the party will not be won back by this. 

“They haven’t flocked to Reform but mainly to other progressive parties or now simply say they don’t know who to vote for,” he wrote on X.

On the same platform, Hackney North MP Diane Abbott warned that the “draconian, unworkable and potentially illegal anti-asylum policies only feed Reform’s support.”

Kent MP Tony Vaughan, a former immigration lawyer, also said ministers’ rhetoric “encourages the same culture of divisiveness that sees racism and abuse growing in our communities.”

Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, told Times Radio: “The dehumanisation of people in desperation is the antithesis of what the Labour party is about.”

The plans were, however, praised by the far right, with Mr Farage saying admiringly that the Home Secretary “sounds like a Reform supporter.”

Mr Yaxley-Lennon endorsed the proposals after they first came to light at the weekend on X, writing: “The Overton window has been obliterated, well done patriots.”

The changes are said to take inspiration from Denmark’s strict system, where a “jewellery law” also allows authorities to confiscate asylum-seekers’ assets, to help fund the costs of their stay.

Ms Mahmood confirmed that “those who have assets will be forced to contribute to their bed and board,” while the government will revoke its legal duty to provide asylum-seekers with financial support.

Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn wrote on X: “Labour won’t redistribute wealth from billionaires. 

“But they will seize belongings from those fleeing war and persecution.”

Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith said the reforms will mean “survivors of torture, modern slavery and persecution will never feel settled, secure or safe in the UK. 

“It is abominable from a Labour government that lost its moral compass some time ago.”

The Refugee Council warned that the extra bureaucracy of having to review asylum-seekers’ status to remain Britain will cost £872 million over 10 years.