"This is how Labour MPs see it. They face brutal dilemmas and miserable choices. How to manage our asylum system is one of the worst. Through their constituency work, they will have met refugees with tragic stories of war and fear, of terrifying journeys across the world, of gangsters on night-time beaches. But MPs' experience of hearing those heart-rending stories clash head-on with what they see as political necessity, demanding they block their ears and harden their hearts."
"Wes Streeting, a practising Christian, yesterday writhed while answering questions on LBC radio about the home secretary's tough plans for deterring small boat arrivals. The flavour of his reply reflected how many on Labour's benches feel. Confronted with the government's intention to deport more families with children ending what Shabana Mahmood said was feeble hesitancy he sought a bogus escape by claiming many would leave voluntarily, making forced removals low. But when pushed, he said yes, removals must be enforced."
Labour MPs confront a clash between compassion seen in refugees' tragic wartime journeys and political pressures to adopt harsher asylum controls. Constituency encounters with heart-rending stories create moral distress, yet many MPs judge deterrence and enforced removals necessary for national interest. Examples include Wes Streeting expressing personal discomfort while endorsing enforced removals and claims that many would leave voluntarily. The dilemmas are both moral and electoral, affecting MPs across red wall, ethnic minority, and university seats. Polling from More in Common indicates majorities of the wider public and of Labour and Green voters back Danish-style tough measures.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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