"Truly we are spoiled. Not one, but two Commons announcements on immigration from the home secretary. Both of them statements of intent. Foreigners, your time is up. Britain isn't just full. It's super-saturated with all the wrong kind of people. Theresa May must be shaking her head. She got labelled with creating a hostile environment just for sending vans round to areas with a large proportion of immigrants, saying: Piss off home. You're not wanted.' I guess those were gentler, kinder times."
"Rather than just bunging them 3,000 to go home which most turned their noses up at the Home Office would offer a serious wedge. Enough to get refugees to go quietly without a legal fight that could cost the government 30,000. It made for a brilliant business model. For illegal migrants. Come over here by boat. Collect 10,000 on arrival on the beach."
"Fair to say, Shabana Mahmood's first statement on illegal immigration went down an absolute storm. With Reform. At Wednesday's prime minister's questions, Lee Anderson had been open-mouthed with admiration. The government is guilty of dog whistle politics, he said. From Reform, there is no higher praise. To out-Nigel Nigel is to live the dream. A thing of beauty. It was all Lee could do not to stand and applaud."
Two Commons announcements signaled a tougher immigration stance using combative language and policy shifts. Proposals include increased cash offers to incentivize asylum seekers to leave instead of pursuing legal challenges. The rhetoric echoes past 'hostile environment' tactics and draws praise from hard-right figures while demonizing migrants. Policy changes risk removing low-paid essential workers from care homes and create perverse incentives for repeated crossings and people-smuggling due to larger payouts. The approach prioritizes political spectacle and cost-avoidance over humane migration management and could produce absurd and exploitative outcomes. Public concern and ethical implications are likely to intensify as practical problems and human costs become clearer.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]