Labour’s plan to tackle small boat crossings is actually good
Shock of the year: Labour’s plan to tackle small boat crossings is actually good … as far as it goes.
Keir Starmer has announced that he would cancel the Tory policy of deportation flights to Rwanda immediately, if a Labour government is elected at the general election.
Instead, he would use money saved from cancelling the flights to employ specialist investigators to identify and prosecute the people-smuggling gangs who are putting refugees/asylum-seekers into dangerous boats and sending them in the direction of England.
Starmer said he will establish a new Border Security Command to work with Border Force, MI5 and the National Crime Agency to prosecute gangs operating small boat routes – led by a former police, military or intelligence chief, who would report directly to the Home Secretary.
The National Audit Office has said payments to Rwanda for the privilege of sending people there would cost £370 million over five years, plus £120 million if more than 300 people are moved, and £20,000 per individual relocated. Over five years, then, that comes to £496 million – almost half a billion pounds.
Starmer said he would use £75 million from scrapping the Rwanda scheme to hire hundreds of investigators and “intelligence agents”.
This Writer wonders what he will do with the other £24.2 million that would allegedly be saved per year.
But in context, that is a small niggle.
Actually investigating and prosecuting the criminals who exploit refugees/asylum-seekers is a far better idea than trying to put people off coming to the UK with a deportation scheme of which they might not even have heard.
But Starmer’s plan falls flat in one meaningful detail: it does not propose new, safe routes into the UK for asylum-seekers who can then be processed fairly. Without these, people will keep trying to get here by other means, no matter what he or any other political leader does.
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This Writer wonders what he will do with the other £24.2 million that would allegedly be saved per year.”
Now I know Richard Murphy doesn’t think much of the idea, but how about using it for wealthy tax evader “investigatiors”
But keef will more than likely use it on “dole snoops” and gove tjem all the ten uear sentence he suggested. 😕
Apologies for poor spelling + no good on phone keyboard.
Also Mike – I don’t know if it’s exclusive to me, but my phone only allows one word at a time when typing unless I rotate the screen?
Any ideas how to rectify?
Does anybody have advice for The Toffee?