Voices: Should the Rwanda scheme be ditched in favour of alternative migrant plans? Join The Independent Debate
Two years and £370m later, the Rwanda plan launched by Priti Patel and Boris Johnson remains stuck in parliamentary purgatory, facing a comstant barrage of amendments and counter-amendments from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the House of Lords.
In the latest setback from Mr Sunak, peers voted on 20 March that the government’s bill should have “due regard” for international law, and that the UK’s treaty with Rwanda should be fully implemented before flights start.
With so much back-and-forth on the Rwanda scheme, we want to know if you think the plans are the best way to tackle the challenges faced by the UK asylum system.
And even if the scheme was eventually implemented, is shipping asylum seekers off to Kigali the best way to deal with the small boat crisis?
It has been previously reported that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is considering “detailed plans” for a so-called offshoring scheme, as he seeks to deter Tory attacks on Labour’s alternative to the Rwanda plan.
The plan would see migrants having asylum claims processed overseas, with successful applicants allowed to come to the UK. But would you back this move?
Meanwhile, the Institute for Public Policy Research has also set out an alternative proposal to the Government’s “impractical” and “costly” Rwanda scheme, including launching a unique refugee visa, particularly for Afghans, allowing them to apply for temporary leave to enter the UK via embassies in other countries, diminishing the need for Channel crossings.
Alongside this, the IPPR called for renewed collaboration with European nations to tackle jointly people smuggling, resolve immigration statuses in northern France, and develop mutual agreements on processing asylum claims.
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