By Lennon Airey
With the ever-evolving story of Rwanda developing this week is it to be the new ‘go-to’ topic for reporters to grill the aspiring Conservative leaders, with Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss all supporting the policy as the leadership contest is soon to be concluded.
Since Priti Patel announced her policy to deport refugees to Rwanda to act as a deterrent from crossing the English Channel, it has been met with wide-spread outrage from both opposing political parties and influential British figures, with HRH The Prince of Wales describing the scheme as “appalling”. Despite the seeming unpopularity of the proposed plan, the government have still pursued with their intentions. Furthermore, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) also ruled the policy inhumane, leading to the initial flight being grounded
However, Patel has seemed unfazed by the interaction of the ECHR as on the 18th of June, she stated, “We will not be deterred from doing the right thing and delivering our plans to control our nation’s borders. Our legal team is reviewing ever decision made on this flight and preparation for the next flight begins now”.
Priti Patel slammed the ‘absolutely scandalous’ decision to ground the first flight
So, with all that said, how do the current contenders for the role of Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party stand on the policy, beginning with Liz Truss, current Foreign Secretary, who described the policy as being ‘completely moral’. Despite her popularity as Foreign Secretary for her role on the intervention within Ukraine, the current polls suggest that Truss would only collect 20% of the votes of the 851 party members, with the favourable Kemi Badenoch stating that she will do ‘whatever it takes to deal with the small boat issue’. Therefore, despite it’s clear opposition from the left and influential British figures, the most popular contenders in the new leadership contest seem to be those who are the strongest backers of the policy.
Tom Tugendhat, predicted to gain meagre 10% of the Conservative votes, despite 36% of the British public thinking he was the most competent on the first debate described the policy as “not being the solution that anyone would have originally chosen but you cannot have rewards for criminality and illegal action”, highlighting his potential opposition to the policy as he aims to instead make a concerted effort to deal with Libya, where most of the trafficking starts.
However, we must not forget, the new PM is being selected by 851 Conservative MPs. The conservative party supports the Rwanda policy yet the public and political left and liberals simply don’t. So, although endorsing the plan will initially work to win over the conservative party votes to get them into No10, will the Rwanda policy be accepted the next General Election, in which millions (not hundreds) of British citizens are set to vote.
So, it begs argument that with such widespread condemnation from the general public, HRH Prince Charles and the potential for a cabinet reshuffle upon the election of the leader, potentially seeing Priti Patel out of the Home Office- will the Rwanda policy survive and, most importantly, will it be the newest ‘banana skin’ interview question for the General Election. Keir Starmer presents a much more libertarian proposal, aiming to negotiate a proper settlement with France to control and monitor the number of refugees coming into England from France.
Thus, will the generally ‘left leaning’ north, or the well-educated, human rights appreciating sections of the population back and get behind a policy that could be argued to dehumanise refugees, transporting them globally. Especially considering the U-turn on the LGBTQ rights in Rwanda will put thousands of vulnerable people at risk of oppression through the scheme, will the Rwanda Deportation scheme, created by far-right Home Secretary still be appreciated come the next General Election? Or will the British people side with liberty and long-term agreements with France, proposed by Labour. Or, even more catastrophic for the Tories, will the policy play an active role in determining the winner of the next General Election…
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