Allow a fresh mind to take over at the Home Office

Does anybody actually have faith in the latest Government policy on deportation of illegal immigrants, or am I right to bracket it as yet another half-baked government policy doomed to failure?  The Foreign Secretary seems to believe this is the answer, even as the first such flight sat on the apron whilst the supposed deportees simply raised their individual legal challenges; is this the best she can come up with.  Sadly, the inaugural flight descended into farce, as our national leaders insisted that the flight would take off irrespective of whether there were deportees onboard or not!  Really, and the point of that would be?  Can a country wallowing in debt as a result of a global pandemic afford to fly an empty plane on an intercontinental journey; tell that to the millions of struggling families across the country.  Explain what kind of environmental message that action sends, and most importantly, in what way will the Rwanda solution make even a dent in the numbers of those entering our country illegally.  Genuinely, the plan is ridiculous, financially flawed, and a non-starter from a humanitarian perspective.  If this is the best our Home Secretary can come up with, she should stand down and allow a fresh mind to take over at the Home Office.

Separate refugees from economic immigrants

The problem, and let’s be clear it is an enormous problem for the UK, is that people are trying to badge it as a race issue; it is definitely not that. The reality is that too many people are entering the UK and that is overwhelming our infrastructure. What these folk are doing is illegal, fact, but does anybody really blame them for trying to improve their lives? So let’s see it for what it truly is, a humanitarian catastrophe; having achieved that, how can we find a workable, humane and decent resolution. I don’t have an answer, but I do have some ideas. Before we look at some of these, I want to make the point that I totally support and believe in immigration, our country relies upon it, as do most others to maintain and enhance our workforce. But we need to separate refugees from economic immigrants. In my view, every country should be mandated to provide a safe haven for refugees and that needs to be centrally managed, with safe countries agreeing to accept a set number per year. These quotas should be policed, enforced and managed on a global basis, perhaps by the UN. Immigration, on the other hand, should be controlled on a an individual sovereign nation basis, with individual countries setting their targets in line with their economic needs. I’m not claiming this is a “silver bullet” to resolve this huge problem, but it is a damned sight better than the Pritti Patel farce.

People must be treated as human beings

Treated with respect, dignity, and decency. It should be incumbent on all nations to contribute to the solution, and where they do not, they should suffer consequences. The constant stream of refugees to the UK is simply not sustainable; if this is not addressed and resolved, it will lead to misery for millions of UK residents. I feel that too many countries are being allowed to ignore their duty to their fellow human beings and are happy to brand it as a British problem. It is not, this is a global disaster that needs a global response.