Latest news with #RwandaPlan
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Labour say small boat chaos ‘is NOT our fault'… while YOU pay for migrants' free swim lessons, uni fees & cinema tickets
A LABOUR minister has shrugged off blame for 50,000 migrants landing in small boats since the election – and ruled out reviving the Rwanda plan. Baroness Jacqui Smith branded the record surge 'wholly unacceptable' but insisted it was the Tories' fault. 2 2 She also dismissed deportations to Rwanda as 'a gimmick' and claimed Labour is focused on 'the hard grind' of smashing smuggling gangs. The Skills Minister told Sky News yesterday: 'This is a problem that, up to this point, we haven't managed to tackle in terms of the numbers who are coming here. 'But it is a completely legitimate claim to say that that is because what is happening is the result of the last government that chose to focus on gimmicks with the Rwanda scheme that returned four volunteers.' But Home Office stats show arrivals this year are 47 per cent higher than the same point in 2024 and 67 per cent higher than in 2023. Some 474 people arrived on Monday alone, taking the total since Sir Keir Starmer's landslide to 50,271. It comes as a Sun investigation this week uncovered a host of generous perks being offered to small boat migrants, including discounts on martial arts classes and dinghy days out plus £1 Aston Villa match tickets for kids. Others include half-price on e-bikes — when Army veterans and pensioners only get a fifth off. Among those dishing out deals is Labour -run Rotherham Council — which gives asylum seekers access to the Rothercard, aimed at helping low-earning families with bills. Around 500 in asylum accommodation in the South Yorkshire town are believed to be eligible. At Rother Valley Country Park's three lakes they get a 30 per cent discount, slashing the cost of a 90-minute double-handed dinghy or sailing boat rental from £20.70 to £14.80. Meanwhile, EU nations once critical of Britain's approach are edging towards their own offshoring or third-country returns. The Labour government binned the Rwanda deportation scheme on its first day in office. Denmark is in talks with Kigali, Italy has struck a deal with Albania to process asylum seekers, and Germany is considering 'safe third country' returns. Tory chief Kemi Badenoch vowed she would drive small-boat numbers to zero 'quickly' if she became PM. Asked if she could achieve that, Ms Badenoch said: 'I think that we can ... it wouldn't happen straight away, but it would happen quickly. 'My team are now looking at what we can do in terms of detention centres, but stopping people from coming here in the first place – if they think they're going to be sent to Rwanda and not get here, get a free hotel, get benefits, then they won't come here.' Her pledge follows Rishi Sunak admitting his 'stop the boats' promise was 'too stark' and ultimately undeliverable.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Why Channel crossings have continued to rise: five key takeaways
Keir Starmer moved into Downing Street 403 days ago promising to ditch the government's failing Rwanda plan, bin the slogan 'stop the boats' and instead use the money to 'smash the gangs' organising the crossings. Since then, more than 50,000 people have arrived in the UK after travelling across the Channel in ribbed boats, and the smuggling gangs continue to profit from the misery of desperate people. Reform UK's popularity is soaring, amid campaigns for the closure of hotels being used to house asylum seekers as claimants wait to discover if they can live and work in the UK. Here are five reasons that the number of Channel crossings have continued to rise. People are trying to escape rapid climate change, famine, oppressive governments and war across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. In 2024, nearly half of those arriving in small boats were from Afghanistan, Syria and Iran, where there have been food shortages, a savage civil war, and campaigns to oppress women and minorities, respectively. In the first three months of this year, people coming from Eritrea made up 20% of new arrivals for the first time. The Eritrean government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses while a famine exacerbated by drought threatens 1 million Eritreans – approximately 20% of the population – according to the World Food Programme. They come to the UK despite the Channel becoming an increasingly dangerous route. In 2024, the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) Missing Migrants Project recorded the highest number of deaths and missing persons in the Channel, with 82 people losing their lives, at least 14 of whom were children. Many refugees and economic migrants are drawn to the UK because of family and historical ties, making it easier to settle in the country and understand its institutions. English continues to be the official language across large swathes of Africa and Asia. There are also perceptions that the UK is a safer and more welcoming country for minorities compared with many other countries in continental Europe. People seeking asylum in the UK must usually arrive on British shores to apply for refuge. Most people are not eligible to apply for asylum from their home countries. Unless they are applying through one of a small number of restricted routes, applicants must be present in the UK to make a claim. Refugee charities have called for new safe and legal routes to be opened for applicants, so they do not have to get into overcrowded boats run by smuggling gangs. The UK governments under Labour and the Tories have declined to do so, usually because of the concern that the country will be overwhelmed and it could act as a 'pull factor'. The successful enforcement of other unauthorised modes of entry, such as in the back of lorries and on the Eurostar, has contributed to the number of people attempting to cross in boats, according to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. After 2014, the British and French governments invested in enhanced security in and around French ports and the Eurotunnel. These enhanced security measures – including more perimeter fencing, additional CCTV, increased patrols, CO2 detectors, thermal imaging, and heartbeat monitors – meant that people attempting to reach the UK found it harder to sneak into the country by other means. Smuggling boat gangs have stepped in to meet the demand and have become larger and increasingly professionalised. Prices for journeys have fallen from about €14,000 in 2018 to under €4,000 in 2024, while the numbers on each boat have increased to more than 60. Starmer's plans to smash the gangs have not yet had time to take effect. The prime minister has introduced a number of measures that are expected to cut the smuggling gangs' operations, but they will take time, ministers have said. These include a 'one in, one out' policy announced last week, which will mean that for every migrant returned to France after crossing the Channel in a small boat, the UK will allow one asylum seeker to enter through a safe and legal route. Other measures include powers to trace suspects and freeze assets of smugglers, and an increase in the number of specialist investigators. The border security, asylum and immigration bill, which will bring in counter-terror-style powers to help identify and disrupt smuggling gangs, has not yet been passed.
Telegraph
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Starmer has just revealed he has absolutely no idea how to to stop the boats
Britain is on the cusp of a new immigration deal with France aimed at stopping the small boat crossings. So far, over 18,000 small boat migrants have crossed the English Channel this year, putting us on course for record numbers. The Government's plans to 'smash the gangs', and novelties like a new Border Security Commander, have clearly failed. What's more, the top countries for asylum seekers to Britain are Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. These are all countries where human rights law means they will likely never be sent home. Plans to stop the use of asylum hotels have been put off until 2029, and on current trends, there is no reason to think it wouldn't be put off again. That means they will keep costing billions every year. What the Government needs is a deterrent. Having dumped the Rwanda Plan in their first week in office, they lost the best effort at one so far. As they were so vociferous in attacking it, it seems unlikely they will try to resurrect it. Instead, they are supposedly planning a new deal with France. Early reports suggested a 'one in, one out' rule. That would mean that almost every small boat migrant would be sent back to France within weeks of arrival. In return, Britain would agree to take one asylum seeker from France with family links to Britain for every migrant sent back. The hope is that this would put potential small boat migrants off trying to come. Why bother spending thousands of pounds if you are guaranteed to be returned to France? Many of those coming on small boats do have family here already, though, so it is unclear how effective it would be. The Government seems to be aware that there are problems with the idea. They have had presentations from senior figures at the European Stability Initiative to discuss an alternative plan. This would involve a coalition of European countries, but not the European Union, who would agree to take back all small boat migrants from Britain. In return, Britain would agree to take a certain number of asylum seekers from them, suggested at a level of 20,000 for four years. The plan is that this would demonstrate that illegal crossings won't work but that there are safe and legal routes for refugees, with Britain setting up a visa application process in EU countries. Britain would still be taking asylum seekers but in significantly lower numbers. The European states, meanwhile, could test a plan they could then apply with other countries, to end the illegal immigration issues they face in the Mediterranean. This is very similar to the 2016 EU-Turkey deal which the European Stability Initiative helped to broker. That did reduce the numbers of asylum seekers coming through Turkey. However, the flows of illegal immigrants simply shifted to other routes, with overall levels still higher than they were before the 2015 refugee crisis. Many will also point out that this doesn't actually fix our issues with human rights laws; it just makes them slightly less worse. Taking in 80,000 asylum seekers would still be a large and costly policy, costing us all billions and directly contrary to what voters want. No wonder that Home Office sources have stressed that this is still a 'work in progress'.
The Sun
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Mastermind of Australia's successful small boats crackdown urges Sir Keir Starmer to resurrect Rwanda plan
A MASTERMIND of Australia's successful small boats crackdown has urged Sir Keir Starmer to resurrect the Rwanda plan. Alexander Downer said it was a tragedy Labour axed the scheme and the PM should 'eat political humble pie'. 3 3 The Aussies cut illegal crossings from a record high of 20,000 in 2014 to nearly zero by sending migrants to the island of Nauru. Ex-foreign minister Mr Downer said: 'I regard it as a tragedy that the Rwanda plan became a party political issue. "The Tories did lots of bad things but that wasn't one. 'It would have worked assuming the legal issues could be properly addressed — and they were being. "So the easiest thing for them to do would be to eat a bit of political humble pie and reinstitute the Rwanda scheme.' But small boat arrivals are about 40 per cent higher on Labour's watch, with more than 40,000 coming here since the election. Sir Keir has said he is open to using offshore processing if there is evidence it works. 3
The Independent
08-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Why are we slashing foreign aid when it can help stop the boats?
When I was an MP in Kent, I saw the problems on our coastline – and have always supported tough measures to cut the number of people arriving in this country without permission. Later, as immigration minister, I took measures to stop people hiding in the backs of lorries, and more recently, I voted and spoke in favour of the Rwanda plan, set out by the former Conservative government. There is no single magic bullet to stop boats crossing the English Channel. But one key part of an effective strategy is to reduce the incentives for people to climb into those boats in the first place – to offer a stick as well as a carrot. As powerful new research from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy shows, well-targeted aid provides that incentive for someone to stay in their home country and abandon dreams of fleeing to Europe. It tackles the root causes of the problem, with benefits to us and would-be asylum seekers. We know that most people in these small boats come from countries in conflict, or where there have been humanitarian emergencies – from Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, Eritrea – so delivering improvements where living conditions are desperate will mean fewer people starting the journey. I'm not talking about spending taxpayers' money to salve our consciences – my argument is that this would be spending our money wisely, in the interests of the British people. The Kiel research shows that, in Sub-Saharan Africa, a marked improvement in health and education services resulted in a 27 per cent fall in people saying they planned to move abroad over the next 12 months – the key ingredient in reducing that push factor. In the same way, if aid is spent wisely in conflict-stricken countries, it is a very effective tool in reducing the danger of fresh outbreaks of violence and, therefore, migration. In the future, as the climate crisis bites, helping agricultural communities adapt by providing better irrigation or more resistant crops will become an increasingly effective use of aid funds. As Tobias Heidland, professor of economics at Kiel University and the study's co-author, puts it: 'When aid improves basic services like healthcare and education – or helps stabilise post-conflict regions – people are less likely to leave.' The research underlines that most people only decide to migrate as a last resort. It is a choice they feel forced to make because they lack opportunity, physical security, or basic services such as healthcare and education. Targeted aid investments can improve these conditions. It also shows information campaigns highlighting the dangers of a journey, such as attempting to cross to Europe and on to the UK, can deliver a 10-20 per cent fall in the share of people ready to migrate – but only once they believe their own situation is no longer hopeless. This all means that relying on tough border controls alone to curb the type of migration we see almost every day in the English Channel will only take us so far. Success requires steps to stop journeys at their start, as well as at their end. Moreover, spending aid in this way is not only the clever thing to do, it can also be popular. Polling from More in Common found that three in five Britons and two-thirds of Reform voters support aid that reduces the numbers of people from war-torn countries seeking asylum in the UK. I regret the short-sighted decision to raid the UK's development budget for the funds that are badly needed to bolster our defence in an increasingly dangerous world, but I recognise that decision has been taken and is unlikely to be reversed. What matters now is to make the case for the survival of essential programmes beyond the current cost-cutting, for those that benefit us all. And there is no more obvious example of that than aid that tackles the small boats' crisis at source.
