Starmer can’t secure Britain’s borders, let alone Ukraine’s

Here’s a question: why does Keir Starmer, the prime minister of the UK, appear to take the security of Ukraine’s borders far more seriously than those of his own country?

Since his election last year, Starmer has posed as a fierce defender of Ukraine’s sovereignty, security and borders. He enjoys visiting Kyiv and sharing the spotlight with President Zelensky.

At least rhetorically, Starmer comes across as a robust anti-Russia hawk. He continually issues pledges promising the UK’s support for Ukraine’s defence. In January, Starmer arrived in Kyiv with great fanfare as he pledged to help guarantee Ukraine’s security for the next 100 years, no less.

A month later, in February, Starmer declared that he was ‘ready and willing’ to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to help guarantee its security as part of a peace deal. In the months that followed, Starmer repeatedly positioned himself as the warrior-in-chief of a ‘coalition of the willing’, prepared to fight on behalf of Ukrainian sovereignty.

Starmer reiterated this commitment earlier this month, warning that Ukraine’s ‘borders must not be changed by force’. This point was underlined in a Downing Street handout, which stated: ‘Our support for Ukraine is unwavering – international borders must not be changed by force and Ukraine must have robust and credible security guarantees to defend its territorial integrity as part of any deal.’

Starmer’s Churchillian performance obscures the bitter truth, however. His real role on the international stage is that of America’s supplicant. The British Army has neither the manpower nor the weaponry needed to fend off the Russian invasion. Hence his insistence that Donald Trump provide security guarantees to Ukraine – a call he reiterated in yesterday’s meeting at the White House with European leaders.

While Starmer lacks the power to do anything effective to defend Ukraine’s security, he does possess the resources necessary to protect the borders of the UK. Yet he seems far less interested in doing much on that front.

According to Home Office data, the number of illegal migrants who have crossed the English Channel in small boats since Starmer came to power is well over 50,000. The real figure is likely to be higher, since this data only covers those who have been officially detected. Around 28,000 migrants have been detected crossing the Channel so far in 2025.

Of course, the small-boats migrants pose nothing like the danger to Britain that the invading Russian army poses to Ukraine. Nevertheless, throughout most of history, the forced entry of over 50,000 foreigners into a nation would have been treated as a major crisis, demanding an urgent and robust response. Unfortunately, the government and our leading institutions are refusing to face up to this predicament.

Starmer is an intelligent man. He surely knows that, as matters stand, the problem of illegal migration will only worsen. He must also know that the various gimmicks his government has devised to pretend it is taking the issue seriously will come to very little. It is likely that Starmer also recognises that mass illegal migration can only be contained if those determined to enter the UK are either deterred or physically prevented from doing so. Unless the small boats stop landing at Dover, the illegal-migration crisis will continue to spiral out of control.

Yet many will have noticed that Starmer, who is prepared to put ‘boots on the ground’ in Ukraine, is unlikely to mobilise any of the forces at his disposal to protect his own country’s borders. In fact, he seems unwilling to take decisive action of any kind. Perhaps because that might fall foul of the courts, both domestic and international. Or maybe it will simply upset his friends in the north London liberal establishment.

The crises in Ukraine and the English Channel make at least one thing clear: Starmer would prefer to strike poses on the international stage than make hard choices at home. He is a statesman without substance.

Frank Furedi is the executive director of the think-tank, MCC-Brussels.