Good news for UK Asylum Seekers as Keir Starmer says Rwanda Scheme is dead
The New British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, on Saturday said that he is scrapping the controversial Rwanda Scheme, a policy by his predecesor, Rishi Sunak, to deport UK asylum seekers to Rwanda .
“The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started,” Starmer said in his first news conference since the Labour Party swept Conservatives from power after 14 years. The Rwanda Scheme, he said, “It’s never acted as a deterrent. Almost the opposite.”
Conservatives have faced challenges in halting the influx of migrants crossing the English Channel, falling short of meeting the promise made by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “stop the boats.”
The contentious Rwanda initiative was presented as a resolution to dissuade migrants from embarking on perilous journeys that could result in deportation to East Africa. To date, it has incurred significant costs for the government, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, without ever being implemented.
Starmer criticized the plan as a “gimmick,” yet it remains uncertain what alternative approach he will pursue as a record number of individuals have arrived on the shores in the initial half of the year.
“Labor will need to identify a strategy to address the issue of small boats crossing the channel,” Bale remarked. “While abandoning the Rwanda program, alternative solutions must be devised to tackle this specific challenge.”
Suella Braverman, a staunch Conservative advocate on immigration and a potential candidate to succeed Sunak as party leader, condemned Starmer’s proposal to terminate the Rwanda agreement.
“Numerous years of diligent efforts, legislative actions, and substantial financial resources have been dedicated to a program that, if properly executed, could have been effective,” she stated on Saturday. “Unfortunately, there are looming significant challenges ahead, which will, regrettably, be instigated by Keir Starmer.”
