Everyone has the right to pursue a better life. Whatever the merits of each migrant’s claim for residency in the UK, rounding humans up and flying them 4,300 miles to Rwanda for “processing” is not the United Kingdom we are or should seek to become. The UK Government has outlined plans to send migrants, deemed to have gained entry to our country unlawfully, to Rwanda, a country in central Africa.
The government aims to deter migrants from seeking unlawful entry to the UK and so this costly policy has been announced and is due to be implemented imminently. I can’t begin to imagine the pain and anguish some migrants have faced in fleeing danger and persecution. We should be a country that provides a home to as many as is practicable.
As a politician, I hear from residents in my communities who desperately need suitable housing, and so we can’t simply open the gates to unlimited numbers of migrants as our own public services are so desperately stretched. Of course, there are gangs who are exploiting the desperation of migrants and operate illegal ferry trips, often from France, to our shores, using inflatable dinghies. Migrants are funding these gangs, often through a forlorn attempt to escape the plight they find themselves in.
