‘Sunak is trapped by Rwanda, but he’s laying a little-noticed Labour trap too’

Immigration and border control is often a hot topic in the United Kingdom.

Yet it is clear that this Conservative government has deliberately and cynically shifted the focus of this debate, away from the hard work required to fix their broken asylum system and toward their unworkable Rwanda gimmick.

The Tories are cynically distracting the public

This manoeuvre – as Yvette Cooper and Stephen Kinnock have consistently said – is aimed at grabbing headlines rather than addressing the pressing immigration challenges faced by the country.

There is no evidence that this scheme will deter small boats crossings. By shifting the focus from its impact to its execution, the Tories are misleading the public with a cynical distraction.

More than 615 individuals crossed into the UK just a few Sundays ago and small boat crossings continue at pace, when the weather allows. The Prime Minister selectively boasts that numbers have fallen – but this is still the second highest year for boat crossings on record.

Furthermore, the fact Rwanda reportedly only has capacity for around 100 asylum seekers raises significant questions about the scheme’s feasibility.

Labour’s plan is comprehensive versus the Tories’ nonsense

Considering the backlog of immigration cases, which stands at a staggering 165,000, the government’s Rwanda plan will not make any meaningful dent in the challenges the UK faces. additionally, the massive cost of temporary accommodation, such as hotels, is costing the taxpayer £8 million per day. This gimmick will not change that.

This week James Cleverly became the third Conservative home secretary in 18 months to go to Rwanda for a photo opportunity. In that time, not a single asylum seeker has been sent there.

The cost to the taxpayer has already been at least £140 million, with further large costs emerging overnight. The small print is that the deal Cleverly brought back contains agreements that Rwanda can send its asylum seekers to the UK, and that anyone we send there who commits a crime can be returned. It is nonsense – hardly worth the paper it is written on.

Suella Braverman is a part of the problem. A divided Tory Party unable to comprehend or fix it.

Insecure borders are a Tory made crisis and #Rwanda is a gimmick that simply does nothing.

Labour has an effective plan to fix it! #SuellaBraverman #Rwanda #Immigration pic.twitter.com/vCntDeUibd

— Mike Tapp (@MikeTappTweets) December 6, 2023

In contrast to the Conservative government’s smoke and mirrors, the Labour party offers a comprehensive plan that goes beyond superficial optics, addressing the root causes of the small boats crisis through practical solutions.

It is only by redirecting resources towards dismantling criminal smuggling gangs, clearing backlog cases, reforming resettlement routes, negotiating new agreements, and tackling humanitarian crises at their source that we will grip this serious issue.

Even if flights take off, they won’t solve underlying issues

It has become increasingly evident that the immigration crisis caused in Downing Street cannot be effectively resolved by the current occupants. Indeed, it is clear that they would rather talk about it than fix it.

Recent polling data consistently indicates that the public places its trust in the labour party to tackle this complex issue. This trust stems from Labour’s commitment to sensible, well-thought-out policies, as opposed to the Conservative government’s reliance on misleading and headline-grabbing gimmicks.

While the media may be fixated on flights to Rwanda taking off, it is crucial to keep emphasising that even if these flights do take off, they will ultimately prove ineffective in addressing the underlying challenges of immigration and border control. Real solutions require comprehensive policies, not gimmicks.