Defining the Agenda: British Refugee Policy and the Role of Parties

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Abstract
Adopting an agenda-setting approach, the paper examines the ways in which the two major British political parties portray issues concerning refugees and asylum seekers. Until the early 1980s, refugees appeared as a distinct agenda item; reactions of political parties to refugee issues were largely determined by where the refugees came from and what they stood for. Subsequently, and in part related to the Conservative success in the control of immigration throughout the 1970s and 80s, refugee issues have been subsumed under the more general immigration agenda. This has posed a dilemma for the Labour Party. The Labour solution attempted to create a perception of refugee issues as part of a racism/anti-racism agenda. However, while an attractive solution to political interests, this particular redefinition of the issue does little to advance the cause of refugees. The paper argues that any hope, now, of political influence in favour of refugees, will depend on the extent to which they are on an agenda which is distinct both from immigrants on the one hand, and from ethnic minorities on the other.

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