UK Elections: Turkiye-UK relations amid new immigrant policies

After the Labour Party won the British elections, new laws against immigration of Turks living in the UK are on the agenda. Based on a long and deep-rooted diplomatic history, Turkiye-UK relations have been following an extremely positive course for a long time compared to Turkiye’s relations with the EU and the US. The cooperation between the two countries, both of which are members of international organisations, especially NATO and the G20, continues to develop in many areas such as economy, trade, tourism, education and defence.

The UK is one of Turkey’s most important trade partners. In addition to a trade volume of 26 billion pounds ($33 billion), the UK is also the 5th country that makes the most foreign investment in Turkiye. With the steps taken recently, it is expected that the trade volume will be increased even more. Within the scope of the agreement that Turkish Airlines recently concluded, the engines of the 220 aircraft it will procure from Airbus will be provided by UK-based Rolls Royce. Additionally, last year, the UK announced that it would provide financing worth 1 billion pounds for Turkiye’s 140 km Yerkoy-Kayseri high-speed electric railway project.

READ: Turkiye restores historic Sinan Bey Mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The close relations are a reflection of mutual trust as well as common interests. The visit of Sir Alan Duncan, the British Foreign Office Representative for Europe and the US, to Turkiye just three days after the 2016 coup attempt has not been forgotten by Ankara. Having supported Turkiye’s EU membership, the UK has sought to develop closer relations with Ankara after Brexit. While Britain and Turkiye often share a common perspective on global and regional issues, it can be said that the fact that the two countries put their points of difference on the table in diplomatic language without drawing a reaction from Ankara has also had a positive effect on relations.

One of the most important issues to be followed in the upcoming period for Turkiye will be the update of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). When the UK left the EU in 2020, it signed a temporary free trade agreement with Turkiye covering products in order to maintain the customs union conditions and prevent disruptions in trade. However, business circles have long been demanding that this agreement be expanded to include agricultural products, digital trade and services. A result was finally achieved in the past months, and it was agreed that negotiations would begin as of 10 June. However, the elections disrupted the process.

The pre-election statements of Labour Party Trade Minister, Jonathan Reynolds, indicate that they will protect the trade agreements signed during the term of his predecessor and the negotiation process is ongoing. Reynolds’ message that they will focus on quality rather than quantity in trade agreements also suggests that negotiations with Turkiye will continue. Because, expanding the FTA signed with Turkiye, to include services where the UK economy is strong, could partially change the trade balance, where Turkiye has a surplus, in favour of the UK. In this light, we can say that negotiations between the two countries will at least be shaped on this point.

When it comes to the UK’s immigration policy, the Conservative Party, which has been in power in the UK since 2010, wants to impose a cap on legal immigration and send some refugees who enter the country illegally to the East African country of Rwanda. That plan has now been abandoned by the new government.

With regard to the Reform UK party, its leader, Nigel Farage, was one of the leading figures in the 2016 Brexit campaign. He wants to reduce net immigration (the difference between those arriving in the country and those leaving) in the UK to zero.

Farage also advocates for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.

Turkish people who are living in the UK are naturally concerned that Farage’s anti-immigrant rhetoric will come to the fore, thus creating a hostile atmosphere and causing immigrants to become more introverted. This is especially the case with reference to those dominant in the service sector, the health sector and as bus drivers, who are are all immigrants. In fact, immigrant communities contribute greatly to the economy, and the circles that govern the country know this.

In fact, immigration has long been at the top of the country’s agenda. One of the most important arguments of those who wanted the UK to leave the European Union (EU) before the Brexit referendum was to control immigration.

The latest estimates on migration from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest that in 2023: 1.2 million people migrated into the UK and 532,000 people emigrated from it, leaving a net migration figure of 685,000. In any case, a stricter immigration policy can be implemented in the UK with the new government. Turkish-origin immigrants in the country are closely following all these discussions.

Turkiye will continue to be an attractive partner for the UK with its geopolitical position, military power and investment opportunities. In an international environment where political uncertainty and the risk of conflict are on the rise, if European countries are sincere in their goal of strategic autonomy, they need to realistically evaluate the integration of non-EU NATO countries like Turkiye into European defence planning.

The UK can play a constructive role in this regard. In this context, the messages that the UK’s new Prime Minister will give at the NATO Summit, which he will attend on 9 July, and at the European Political Community Summit, which he will host on 18 July, will provide clues about the foreign policy orientation of the upcoming period.

READ: Turkiye to build new satellite observation terminals abroad

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.