In what seems like a watershed moment for the government’s Rwanda plan, the first migrant has been sent to the country from the UK. Only, um, it’s not actually the primary Rwanda deportation scheme that’s supposed to stop the small boats. No, this man voluntarily relocated to the central African country after being offered up to £3,000 to do so. Alright for some…
In a rather confusing series of events, separate to the Rwanda Act there is also a voluntary deportation plan on the go. Migrants who are unable to stay in the UK legally are rather more politely rounded up and asked if they would please move elsewhere, incentivised by the promise of financial aid. The twist is that earlier this year, the list of possible destinations for migrants under this plan was widened to include Rwanda too.
Government sources confirm that this is not part of the main Rwanda scheme, which was passed through parliament last week but is yet to have actually made any dent in the UK’s immigration problem. Meanwhile another problem has cropped up on that front for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who will be hoping ahead of elections both local and general that his ‘stop the boats’ pledge will now seem a little more achievable to voters. There are fresh reports that the Home Office has, er, lost track of many of the migrants earmarked for Rwanda. Of 5,700 people destined for removal to the country, just under 2,200 of them remain in contact with the government. Oh dear…
The news certainly won’t help instil faith in the current administration’s attempts to deter illegal settlers. And some of Sunak’s harshest critics are within his own ranks. As The Spectator reports, Tory plotters have drawn up an ‘100 days’ policy plan for if the PM performs worse than expected in local elections — with hardened immigration proposals a top priority for a possible successor.
So when is the deportation of a migrant to Rwanda actually a deportation of a migrant to Rwanda under the new law? Well, not this time anyway. The clock is running out for Mr Sunak to prove he can deliver on immigration, one of voters’ top four priorities this election year. Tick tock…
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