Securitising the Other: Politicisation, Racialisation, Immigration in the United Kingdom

Securitising the Other: Politicisation, Racialisation, Immigration in the United Kingdom

Nomatter Sande & John Ringson

Issue: Vol. 7 No.1 2026 Article 28 pp. 364 – 378
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267128| Published online 27th February 2026

38 Downloads

DOWNLOAD PDF

ABSTRACT

This study investigates how political and media actors in the United Kingdom have weaponised immigration discourse to secure electoral advantage by framing migrants as existential threats to national security, economic stability, and cultural identity. Employing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the paper systematically examined 150 articles from The Guardian and The Telegraph, parliamentary debates, and policy documents between 2000 and 2021. The analysis identifies three dominant discursive strategies: the securitisation of migrants through metaphors of invasion and criminality, the economic bifurcation of immigrants as either ‘contributors’ or ‘burdens,’ and the racialised construction of British identity in opposition to immigrant ‘others’. Findings reveal that political rhetoric systematically marginalises migrants to legitimise exclusionary policies, reinforcing structural inequities tied to racial capitalism. By integrating discourse analysis with securitisation theories and social identity, this study contributes to political science by demonstrating how immigration narratives serve electoral objectives while perpetuating systemic marginalisation. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to reframe migration debates around integration and equity. This study contributes to scholarship by employing critical discourse analysis, showing how the UK’s political figures weaponise racialise migrants as threats to rationalise exclusionary policies and secure electoral advantage.

Keywords: Immigration, Critical Discourse Analysis, religion, racialisation, securitisation, UK politics, electoral strategy

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ashcroft, M. A. “ How the United Kingdom Voted on Thursday… and Why.” Lord Ashcroft Polls, 2016. http://lordashcroftpolls.com/2016/06/how-the-united-kingdom-voted-and-why/.

Ashcroft, Michael. “How the UK Voted on Brexit, and Why—A Refresher.” Lord Ashcroft Polls (blog), February 2019. https://lordashcroftpolls.com/2019/02/how-the-uk-voted-on-brexit-and-why-a-refresher.

Augoustinos, Martha, and Danielle Every. “The Language of ‘Race’ and Prejudice: A Discourse of Denial, Reason, and Liberal-Practical Politics.” Journal of Language and Social Psychology 26, no. 2 (2007): 123–41.

Balch, Alex, and Ekaterina Balabanova. “A Deadly Cocktail? The Fusion of Europe and Immigration in the UK Press.” Critical Discourse Studies 14, no. 3 (May 27, 2017): 236–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2017.1284687.

Bale, T. The Conservative Party: From Thatcher to Cameron . 2nd ed. London: Polity Press, 2018.

Bale, Tim. “Putting It Right? The Labour Party’s Big Shift on Immigration Since 2010.” The Political Quarterly 85, no. 3 (July 28, 2014): 296–303. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.12091.

Bednarek, Monika, and Helen Caple. The Discourse of News Values: How News Organizations Create Newsworthiness. Oxford University Press, 2017.

Blinder, Scott, and Lindsay Richards. “UK Public Opinion toward Immigration: Overall Attitudes and Level of Concern.” Migration Observatory, 2020. https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/uk-public-opinion-toward-immigration-overall-attitudes-and-level-of-concern/.

Brader, Ted, Nicholas A. Valentino, and Elizabeth Suhay. “What Triggers Public Opposition to Immigration? Anxiety, Group Cues, and Immigration Threat.” American Journal of Political Science 52, no. 4 (October 29, 2008): 959–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2008.00353.x.

Bulman, May. “David Cameron: The Prime Mover behind Britain’s Hostile Environment, Who Escaped the Blame.” The Independent, June 9, 2019. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hostile-environment-david-cameron-theresa-may-windrush-scandal-immigration-a8916366.html.

Capdevila, Rose, and Jane E. M. Callaghan. “‘It’s Not Racist. It’s Common Sense’. A Critical Analysis of Political Discourse around Asylum and Immigration in the UK.” Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology 18, no. 1 (January 5, 2008): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.904.

Clarke, Harold D., Matthew J. Goodwin, and Paul Whiteley. Brexit: Why Britain Voted to Leave the European Union. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Cooper, C. “Yvette Cooper Accuses Ministers of ‘Scaremongering’ over Migrant Benefits.” The Independent, February 22, 2016. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/yvette-cooper-accuses-ministers-of-scaremongering-over-migrant-benefits-a6889131.html.

Crines, Andrew, Tim Heppell, and Michael Hill. “Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’Speech: A Rhetorical Political Analysis.” British Politics 11, no. 1 (2016): 72–94.

Cruz Moya, Olga. “De ‘Lobos Solitarios’ a ‘Carpas Africanas’: Estrategias de Despersonalización En Las Metáforas Empleadas Por El Discurso Periodístico En Torno a Los Refugiados.” Tonos Digital 38, no. 0 (2020).

Devlin, C., O. Bolt, D. Patel, D. Harding, and I. Hussain. “Impacts of Migration on UK Native Employment: An Analytical Review of the Evidence.” Home Office Occasional Paper 109. London: Home Office, 2014. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7d61c640f0b6230268d5b0/occ109.pdf.

Dijk, Teun A. Van. Elite Discourse and Racism. London: Sage Publications, 1993.

Douglas, B. “ Illegal Immigration to Europe Shows Sharp Rise.” The Telegraph, 2007.

Duffy, Bobby, and Tom Frere-Smith. Perceptions and Reality: Public Attitudes to Immigration. London: Ipsos MORI, 2014.

El-Enany, Nadine. Bordering Britain: Law, Race and Empire. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2020.

Ethnicity Facts and Figures. “ Population of England and Wales.” UK Government, November 2022. https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/population-of-england-and-wales/latest.

Fairclough, Norman. Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. London: Longman, 1995.

———. Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. Routledge, 2013.

Firmstone, K. “The UK News Industry.” Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 2024.

Fox, Jon E, Laura Moroşanu, and Eszter Szilassy. “The Racialization of the New European Migration to the UK.” Sociology 46, no. 4 (August 18, 2012): 680–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038511425558.

Goldberg, D. T. “ Racial Europeanization.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 29, no. 2 (2006): 364.

Goodman, S. Immigration and Membership Politics in Western Europe. Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Goodwin, Matthew, and Caitlin Milazzo. “Taking Back Control? Investigating the Role of Immigration in the 2016 Vote for Brexit.” The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 19, no. 3 (August 8, 2017): 450–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148117710799.

Griffiths, Melanie, and Colin Yeo. “The UK’s Hostile Environment: Deputising Immigration Control.” Critical Social Policy 41, no. 4 (November 11, 2021): 521–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261018320980653.

Hainmueller, Jens, and Daniel J. Hopkins. “Public Attitudes Toward Immigration.” Annual Review of Political Science 17, no. 1 (May 11, 2014): 225–49. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-102512-194818.

Hansard. “Countering Islamic Extremism (HC Deb, Vol 623, Col 1005).” UK Parliament, March 22, 2017.

House of Commons Library. “ Research Paper 03/77: A History of Immigration Legislation.” Parliament.uk, 2003.

Immigration Advice Service. “What Is the Difference between a Migrant and an Immigrant?” 2023. https://www.iasuk.org/news/what-is-the-difference-between-a-migrant-and-an-immigrant/.

KhosraviNik, Majid. “The Representation of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Immigrants in British Newspapers.” Journal of Language and Politics 9, no. 1 (April 19, 2010): 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.9.1.01kho.

Kilby, L., J., Horowitz, and S. Pasha. “ The Impact of Immigration on the UK Labour Market.” National Institute of Economic and Social Research, 2013.

Kirkup, J., and R. Winnett. “ Migrant Crisis Overwhelms NHS.” The Telegraph, August 21, 2015. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/11816069/Migrant-crisis-overwhelms-NHS.html.

Kirkup, James, and Robert Winnett. “Theresa May: Illegal Immigrants ‘Here Illegally.” The Telegraph, May 25, 2012.

Kiwan, D. “A ‘Conservative’ National Citizenship? The UK Experience.” In Migrations and Mobilities: Citizenship, Borders, and Gender, edited by S. Benhabib and J. Resnik, 278–303. New York: New York University Press, 2009.

Krzyżanowski, Michał. “Discursive Shifts and the Normalisation of Racism: Imaginaries of Immigration, Moral Panics and the Discourse of Contemporary Right-Wing Populism.” Social Semiotics 30, no. 4 (2020): 503–27.

Kundnani, Arun. The Muslims Are Coming! Islamophobia, Extremism, and the Domestic War on Terror. London: Verso Books, 2014.

Leeuwen, Theo Van. Discourse and Practice: New Tools for Critical Discourse Analysis. Oxford university press, 2008.

Liberty. “The Hostile Environment,” 2020. https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/the-hostile-environment/.

Maccafferi, N. The Politicization of Immigration in the United Kingdom. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.

Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). EEA Migration in the UK: Final Report. London: Migration Advisory Committee, 2018. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5b9c5c9a40f0b60c7c6d1b7d/MAC-EEA-report.pdf.

Modood, Tariq. Multicultural Politics: Racism, Ethnicity, and Muslims in Britain. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005.

Mondon, A., and A. Winter. Reactionary Democracy: How Racism and the Populist Far Right Became Mainstream. Verso Books, 2020.

Murji, K., and J. Solomos. Racialization: Studies in Theory and Practice. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Nelson, R. L., and P. Davis-Wiley. “The Social Construction of the ‘Illegal’ Immigrant in US Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis.” In The Construction of Identity in 21st Century Media: Discursive and Semiotic Approaches, edited by M. D. Giovanni, 45–64. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

Office for National Statistics. “Migration Statistics Quarterly Report,” 2023. https://www.ons.gov.uk.

Onwurah, C. “Labour Must Dare to Defend Freedom of Movement.” LabourList, October 4, 2016. https://labourlist.org/2016/10/chi-onwurah-labour-must-dare-to-defend-freedom-of-movement/.

Portes, J. “The Impact of Migration on UK Native Employment: A Review of the Evidence.” National Institute Economic Review 244, no. 1 (2018): R13–21.

“Refugee History,” 2024. https://refugeehistory.org/.

Reid, J. “The ‘Breaking Point’ Poster: Brexit, Emotion, and the Politics of Fear.” In Images of Brexit: Visual Responses to the UK’s Decision to Leave the EU, edited by V. Koller, 87–102. London: Routledge, 2019.

Seymour-Ure, C. The British Press and Broadcasting since 1945. 2nd ed. Blackwell Publishing, 1997.

Sniderman, Paul M., Louk Hagedoorn, and Markus Prior. “Predisposing Factors and Situational Triggers: Exclusionary Reactions to Immigrant Minorities.” American Political Science Review 98, no. 1 (February 27, 2004): 35–49. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305540400098X.

The Guardian. “ Churches Step in to Shelter Asylum Seekers,” October 20, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/20/churches-step-in-to-shelter-asylum-seekers.

———. “ NHS Relies on Filipino Nurses to Fill Staff Shortages,” February 17, 2020.

———. “EU Workers Vital to Post-Brexit Economy, Says CBI,” January 3, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/03/eu-workers-vital-to-post-brexit-economy-says-cbi.

The Telegraph. “Breaking Point: EU Migration Overwhelms UK.” The Telegraph, June 16, 2016.

Vargas-Silva, C., and C. Rienzo. “ Migrants in the UK: An Overview.” The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, 2022. https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/migrants-in-the-uk-an-overview/.

Virdee, Satnam. “Racialized Capitalism: An Account of Its Contested Origins and Consolidation.” The Sociological Review 67, no. 1 (January 7, 2019): 3–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026118820293.

Wodak, Ruth. “The Discourse-Historical Approach.” In Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, 63–94. 6 Bonhill Street, London EC2A 4PU: SAGE Publications, Ltd, 2001. https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857028020.n4.

YouGov. “How Britain Voted in the 2016 EU Referendum,” 2016. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2016/06/27/how-britain-voted.

ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Nomatter Sande (PhD) is a Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Theology and Religion (RITR), South Africa, and a Research Associate at the University of Glasgow. His interests include religion, migration, transnationalism, disability studies and gender.

John Ringson (PhD) is an Adjunct Associate Research Professor at Sol Plaatje University in the Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities in South Africa. His research interests focus on public governance, African politics, philanthrocapitalism, child rights governance, migration, ethical leadership, digital transformation, service delivery, human capital development, and gender & sustainable development.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Sande, Nomatter, and John Ringson. “Securitising the Other: Politicisation, Racialisation, Immigration in the United Kingdom.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 7, no.1 (2026): 364 – 378. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267128