The Welsh Government’s plan to turn Wales into a “Nation of Sanctuary” has received a setback after a poll showed slightly more people supported Westminster’s policy of sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda than opposed it.
A poll undertaken by Beaufort Research for WalesOnline showed that, overall, 43% of those interviewed across Wales said they agreed with the UK Government’s policy to send some asylum seekers to the African country while their applications were considered, while 40% opposed it. The remaining 17% answered ‘don’t know’.
The Home Office has made it clear that those whose applications are accepted will be resettled in Rwanda rather than the UK. There were marked differences in the responses according to which region of Wales respondents lived in, as well as in terms of gender, age and social class.
Men and older people were most likely to agree with the UK Government policy: 52% of those aged 55 and over said they supported it, compared with just 32% of 16-34 year-olds. Some 51% of men said they supported it, compared with just 36% of women.
Women and younger people were more likely to be against the plan than to support it, with 45% of women saying they disagreed with the policy, compared to.36% who agreed with it; Equally, 47% of 16-34 year-olds disagreed with the policy while 32% agreed with it
Those in the upper AB socioeconomic groups were more likely to disagree with the plan than agree - with 48% against it and 45% in favour - while the reverse was true among all other socioeconomic groups, especially among C2s, where 46% were in favour compared with 37% against.
There were also differences by region – in Cardiff and South East Wales more were opposed than in favour, with 45% against the policy and 41% backing it.
Opinion was almost evenly divided in North (42% for the policy; 41% against) and Mid/West Wales (42% in favour; 41% against); while in The Valleys (by 46% to 30%) and West South Wales (by 46% to 41%), more were in favour than against.
While both fluent Welsh speakers and non-Welsh speakers were predominantly in favour of the policy, there was greater support for it amongst the former group (by 52% to 36%) than the latter (by 43% to 39%).
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We are clear that the UK Government policy to send people to Rwanda is intentionally divisive and will have a detrimental effect on the healing process of those seeking sanctuary. It is our moral duty to enable people to seek safety and find an inclusive welcome here in Wales.”
“Wales has enjoyed a long history of welcoming refugees, and we continue to value and benefit from their skills, entrepreneurial spirit and the sharing of their cultures. It's vitally important for the future of Wales that we harness the ability of all that come to make a new life here.”
Liz Saville Roberts MP, Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader said: “The UK Government’s decision to outsource our international legal duty to refugees to another continent is truly disgraceful. We should remind ourselves that we are talking about human beings who are fleeing war, persecution, climate breakdown – unimaginable horrors to many of us living in the safety and comfort of the UK.
“It is immoral and impractical to force these people halfway across the world to Rwanda, a poor country without the proper infrastructure or resources to support refugees, and a worrying human rights record to match.
“The proper solution to ending trafficking and dangerous channel crossings is to open safe and efficient legal routes, increase financial and humanitarian support to affected countries and lead a collective international effort to tackle the root causes of displacement such as war and climate change.
“There is a huge amount of generosity amongst people in Wales to support refugees as we have seen with Homes for Ukraine.”
Launching the Welsh Government’s latest refugee strategy in 2019, Social Justice Minister Jane Hutt said: The ‘Nation of Sanctuary’ plan outlines the breadth of work which the Welsh Government is undertaking across Wales to ensure inequalities experienced by these communities are reduced, access to opportunities increased, and relations between these communities and wider society improved.
“While the plan includes many cross-Government actions, we will particularly prioritise key issues which have been highlighted by refugees and asylum seekers during the development of this plan. These include ensuring:
- Refugees and asylum seekers can access health services (including mental health services) which they require throughout the ‘asylum journey’. This includes health assessments on arrival and during the dispersal and post-trauma phases.
- Refugees and asylum seekers are provided with the information and advice they need to begin to integrate into Welsh society from day one. Asylum seekers are not prevented from accessing appropriate Welsh Government schemes which would support their integration.
- New refugees and asylum seekers are less likely to fall into destitution. * All refugees and asylum seekers (particularly unaccompanied asylum seeking children) are properly safeguarded and can access advocacy support.
- Refugees and asylum seekers can access educational opportunities, including language skills, to help them rebuild their lives and fulfil their potential.
“The plan covers a wide breadth of commitments which could improve outcomes for these newly arrived members of our communities. However, I see this plan as a major milestone on a longer journey which will drive us towards becoming a true nation of sanctuary.”
Fieldwork for the Beaufort poll took place between June 6 and June 26. A total of 1,000 interviews were completed and analysed. Data has been weighted by age group, gender, local authority grouping and social grade to match 2011 Census figures and ensure it is fully representative of the adult population (16+) in Wales.
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