Rishi Sunak’s immigration plan could be a game changer
Spectator (UK)Dec 13, 2022
The Facts
On Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a new five-point strategy to deal with illegal immigration. The news comes as the government continues to deal with a surge in migrants crossing the English Channel.
The five-point plan entails: the introduction of a new permanent unified small boat operational command, focusing immigration officers solely on enforcement, the cessation of the use of hotels to house asylum seekers as much as possible by the government, a doubling of the number of asylum caseworkers, and the rejection of a "majority of claims" from Albania until all Albanians are cleared from the government's immigration backlog.
The Spin
Right narrative
Sunak's five-point plan is potentially game-changing, as it will finally commit the Conservative party to effective action in fighting immigration. Knowing that this is a policy area with the most potential for gaining Tory voters, Sunak has pushed for an immigration crackdown with an eye to the election in 2024. If Sunak sticks to this blueprint, the Conservatives can maintain their majority.
Left narrative
Sunak's policies are an inhumane response which, if implemented, would effectively reject the UN refugee convention — of which the UK was a founding signatory. Under Tory government, the UK is shifting towards aggressive unilateralism.
Nerd narrative
There is a 50% chance that at least 1.90K migrants will die or go missing in the Mediterranean in 2022, according to the Metaculus prediction community.