Stop the boats

"Stop the boats" is a political slogan and pledge used by Tony Abbott in his campaign for the 2013 Australian federal election, and later by former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak from 2023 to 2024.

At the start of his campaign for Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott included the phrase in his launch speech on 25 August 2013, stating "we'll build a stronger economy so everyone can get ahead.

"[3] Abbott's specific policy entailed Operation Sovereign Borders, in which migrants on boats were to be intercepted and either taken to overseas island detention centres or returned to where they travelled from.

"[6] Refugee law expert Madeline Gleeson noted that the UK would struggle to implement its proposed policies in the same way as Australia, as it was a "totally different place".

[14][15][16] On 8 August 2024, former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, who had previously defended Sunak's pledge, stated that he had thought "from the outset" that the slogan was "never going to be provable", comparing it to saying "stop crime.

"[17] Analysis of the slogan's use in both countries has led to the drawing of several similarities between the two, including language that appeals to "island mindsets" such as referring to asylum seekers and migrants as criminals or an "invasion", thereby stirring up "fears of outsiders".