Politics

Why Sunak’s new promise after Rwanda ruling looks extremely hard to keep

Published

8 months ago

November 15, 2023

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It was the prime minister’s day in court today, and he really needed a win.

Instead, the linchpin of his immigration plan – to send asylum seekers to Rwanda – is not just loose but lost.

For a leader who has said, on repeat, that he will stop the boats, Rishi Sunak had little option after this almighty setback to double down on the plan.

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Appearing before the media after losing this case in the Supreme Court, Mr Sunak sounded determined and tough: Rwanda not safe for migrants? No matter – parliament will pass emergency laws to declare it safe and will disapply international law, such as the European Convention on Human Rights, when it comes to the government’s Rwanda policy.

And then there was this promise to voters: “Flights will be heading off in the spring as planned.”

It was tough talk and a clear plan but stop for a few minutes and you ask yourself: is this a prime minister on rinse and repeat, trying to change laws only to get bogged down, again?

First, if the Supreme Court says Rwanda isn’t a safe country, you can’t simply pass a law that says it is.

The prime minister might be able to push it through the Commons with his majority, but the House of Lords may well not want to vote to put anyone in harm’s way.

The suggestion by Mr Sunak that this is all straightforward is disingenuous to say the least.

When I suggested to one government adviser that the prime minister might not be able to guarantee flights next spring given the legislative hoops he needs to jump through, they argued: “The Lords question is a question for Labour, not us – will they accept the will of parliament and the people that we must stop the boats?”

I suspect the answer to that will be a “no” and this will be neither a quick or easy process.

Then there is the question of any domestic laws the prime minister does pass being challenged in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Now, on that, the UK-Rwanda treaty might help, says former head government lawyer Jonathan Jones.

That’s because Strasbourg could issue an interim “rule 39” order to say the UK can’t allow flights to take off – as it did earlier this year – but it sounds like the prime minister would ignore it.

But what all of the above points to is that this is no quick fix and that matters politically, because the one big takeaway I heard from that media conference was that the flights will get off the ground next spring.

Those on the right of the party will be led by Suella Braverman agitating for the prime minister to withdraw from the ECHR now and get the flights going or face a new Tory civil war. The stakes could not be higher.

A prime minister’s announcement on next steps today raises more questions than it answers, while his new promise still, for now, looks extremely hard to keep.

When the history of the Sunak government is written, will “stop the boats” be remembered as an election-winning slogan or Mr Sunak’s political epitaph?

Politics

IRS reveals final regulations for crypto broker rules

Published

3 hours ago

June 28, 2024

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IRS reveals final regulations for crypto broker rules

The Internal Revenue Service did not include decentralized exchanges or self-custodial wallets under its broker reporting requirements.

Politics

Reform canvasser in PM racism row says he was ‘a total fool’

Published

5 hours ago

June 28, 2024

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Reform canvasser in PM racism row says he was 'a total fool'

A Reform UK canvasser who used a racial slur against Rishi Sunak has called himself a “total fool” and said he has learned his lesson.

Footage from an undercover Channel 4 reporter showed Reform campaigner Andrew Parker using a discriminatory term about the prime minister, as well as saying the army should “just shoot” migrants crossing the Channel.

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Police are now assessing the comments to establish if an offence has been committed, while Mr Sunak said the insult directed at him “hurts and it makes me angry”.

Mr Parker, who was canvassing in Clacton, where Reform leader Nigel Farage is standing, told Sky News the sting operation had “proper taught me a lesson”.

He said: “There’s lots of old people like me who are sick to death of this woke agenda… but on that particular day, I was set up and set up good and proper.

“It’s proper taught me a lesson – I was a total fool.”

Pressed on his use of the racial slur, he said he was an “old man” and “I still use old words”.

“There’s no racism at all in it. I am a decent guy to be honest”, he added.

In the Channel 4 report, Mr Parker can be heard using offensive language about the prime minister and also discussing migrants arriving in small boats in Deal, Kent

He said: “Army recruitment – get the young recruits there, with guns, on the f****** beach, target practice. F****** just shoot them.”

He also described Islam as a “disgusting cult”.

Mr Farage said he was “dismayed” by the “appalling” comments and has sought to distance himself from the campaigner, saying he was simply “someone who turned up to help” and “has nothing to do with the party”.

He has also used reports Mr Parker was a part-time actor to suggest the incriminating film was a “total set-up” – something Channel 4 has strongly denied.

Mr Parker himself says his volunteering for Reform was separate from his acting job – and claims he was “goaded” into making the comments.

A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: “We strongly stand by our rigorous and duly impartial journalism which speaks for itself.

“We met Mr Parker for the first time at Reform UK party headquarters, where he was a Reform party canvasser.

“We did not pay the Reform UK canvasser or anyone else in this report. Mr Parker was not known to Channel 4 News and was filmed covertly via the undercover operation.”

The broadcaster’s investigation also caught another canvasser describing the Pride flag as “degenerate” and suggesting members of the LGBT community are paedophiles.

A spokesman for Essex Police said the force is “urgently assessing” the comments “to establish if there are any criminal offences”.

PM ‘hurt and angry’ over racial slur

Mr Sunak reacted furiously to the comments and said Mr Farage had “some questions to answer”.

He said: “My two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for Nigel Farage calling me an effing P***. It hurts and it makes me angry and I think he has some questions to answer.

“And I don’t repeat those words lightly. I do so deliberately because this is too important not to call out clearly for what it is.

“As prime minister, but more importantly as a father of two young girls, it’s my duty to call out this corrosive and divisive behaviour.”

Unrepentant Farage doubles down

However, Mr Farage was unrepentant when grilled on the row during a BBC Question Time leaders’ special, saying he was “not going to apologise” for the actions of people associated with his party.

Reform UK has faced a series of controversies relating to election candidates saying offensive or racist things.

Asked why his party “attracts racists and extremists”, the former UKIP leader claimed he had “done more to drive the far right out of British politics than anybody else alive” – claiming he took on the British Nationalist Party (BNP) a decade ago.

He also appeared to throw his predecessor Richard Tice under the bus when read racist and xenophobic comments made by Reform candidates, saying he “inherited a start up party” and has “no idea” why the people who said those things had been selected.