In normal times, the policy-making process requires ministers to ensure any new measure represents value for money, runs a reasonable chance of success and has a clear legal foundation. The Rwanda asylum plan fails on all three metrics.
Last night, a plane carrying migrants for Rwanda remained grounded, halted by the European Court on Human Rights. Meanwhile, 444 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats on Tuesday.
This has led some Conservatives to rail against “foreign judges”, by which they mean the ECHR, established by the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the UK has been a signatory since 1950.
The Government is entitled to take action, not only to secure the UK’s borders but to come down hard on the people smugglers profiteering from human misery. Yet the plan to send migrants to Rwanda is a fundamental misstep, one that ministers knew would run the risk of falling foul of the courts.
Unfortunately, this policy has thus far proven to be little more than a costly piece of gesture politics — the Government has already paid out £120 million to Rwanda as part of the deal and up to £500,000 for a flight that never left the tarmac.
The Home Secretary has pledged to press ahead with the policy. Yet it does not come close to grappling with the serious issues of providing safe routes for asylum seekers and cutting out the people smugglers. We need a fresh and humane approach to this seemingly intractable problem.
Protect women
In the UK, a woman is killed by a man every three days, while polling has found that more than a quarter of women have been a victim of sexual assault at some point in their lives. That is why the Standard welcomes Sadiq Khan’s new public health-style strategy to tackle this epidemic of violence in London.
As part of an £18 million package in support services for marginalised communities, it will see high street venues across the capital, including dry cleaners and cafes, urged to act as “information points” to direct victims or those at risk of abuse to specialist services.
The Mayor is of course right to acknowledge that “change will not happen overnight”. But combating violence against women and girls must be a priority for all of us, and it is important that tackling male attitudes is a central part of today’s announcement.
Our goal can fall no lower than to make London the safest city in the world for all its residents.
Nando’s joins pledge
Nando’s has become the latest company to join our Skill Up Step Up campaign, taking the total number of jobs pledged to unemployed young Londoners trained to more than 300.
Vacancy rates in the capital are high, but the key is to narrow the skills gap, which is what our campaign seeks to achieve by partnering with charities and firms to upskill young people and set them on a path to a meaningful career.
