British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose popularity has fallen since his election landslide last year, urgently needs a political victory on immigration. In particular, he aims to curb the influx of asylum seekers arriving in small boats—a move designed to halt the rise of the populist Reform UK party, led by Brexit veteran Nigel Farage.

Starmer hopes to secure an agreement on a so-called “one in, one out” migrant returns deal. Under this plan, Britain would deport to France those arriving in small boats, in exchange for France accepting an equal number of legitimate asylum seekers.

However, President Emmanuel Macron has also called on Britain to tackle the “migration pull factors,” implying that he wants Starmer to do more to make it harder for migrants without legal status to work and settle in the UK. Meanwhile, British police have begun targeting delivery drivers, making eight arrests and seizing 40 vehicles.

Agencies.