OPINION - Whisper it, but Rwanda could work for Rishi Sunak
When the government in Dublin admitted this week that migrants are moving to Ireland from Britain because they are fearful of being sent to Rwanda, Rishi Sunak must have been delighted at such an electoral gift.
That’s because there couldn’t have been plainer — or more independent — evidence that his hotly contested scheme to send migrants arriving here illegally to the African country might finally be making the prospect of starting a new life in the UK far less appealing, at least to some.
It’s true that the flow of small boats across the Channel has continued, despite the Government getting its Safety of Rwanda Act through Parliament to make its removal scheme lawful, in a sign that any deterrent effect achieved so far has only been partial at best.
Critics continue to point too at the hundreds of millions of pounds already spent even before the first plane has left.
But Mr Sunak will be confident that despite the barrage of negative headlines, the political tide could turn if the first forced removals get under way within the next 11 weeks as planned.
That’s well before the likely date of the general election and will give the Prime Minister the chance to claim both that he has an answer to the dilemma of what to do with migrants who don’t qualify for asylum and to turn the focus onto whether Labour has a viable alternative?
That’s highly debatable. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper trumpets a five-point plan which she claims will “smash the smuggling gangs” through a new cross-border unit and closer co-operation with the EU.
It makes good rhetoric, but the reality is that the National Crime Agency already works closely with EU countries to tackle people smuggling gangs and seize boats and engines before they reach France.
More money might enable greater success but just as drug gangs persist despite robust law enforcement, it feels fanciful to think that Labour’s plan can stop the people smugglers altogether.
For now, the heat remains on Mr Sunak. But if this week’s Irish gift is followed by flights to Rwanda taking off, the small boats problem could become Labour’s election headache.
