Mr Ainsworth'What do you think that Reform will/would do, Ms Hammond?'I can't speak for Ms Hammond nor Reform but this is Labour's policy. (From Labour List)'Labour has said the level of net migration must be “properly controlled and managed” and committed to reduce it as part of plans set out on immigration in its general election manifesto.The party has pledged to end the “wasteful” Migration and Economic Development partnership with Rwanda and use that funding to create a new Border Security Command, staffed by “hundreds” of new investigators, intelligence officers and cross-border police officers.It has committed to set up a new returns and enforcement unit, with an additional 1,000 staff, to fast-track removals to safe countries.The party also said it would work with international partners to address the humanitarian crises which lead people to flee their homes'.As of 10 July, 14,058 people had crossed the Channel in 2024 - above the numbers for the same period in the previous four years.Some 3,000 came from Türkiye, 2,000 from Vietnam, 700 from Egypt and 900 from Albania.In 2023 a good percentage came from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.As most of these countries might be considered 'safe' (in contrast to Iran and Afghanistan where a larger percent originated) then the policy of swift assessment followed by deportation should be effective.That being said, Italy, Greece and Spain are the target countries for much larger numbers than those choosing the UK.Ireland must be relieved that Labour has cancelled the Conservative policy of planning/threatening to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda for asylum processing.This caused many to travel to Northern Ireland and then walk across the border into Ireland.Not a situation the Irish people or the Government relished as 'tent cities' were set up and the country's hosing problem exacerbated.The Irish Government said it had plans to change legislation in the coming weeks, giving it the legal authority to return illegal immigrants to the UK.However, ministers from London declined to engage with the proposal, and there were doubts that changing the law would change the reality on the ground."It’s entirely academic in circumstances where the United Kingdom says they won’t take people back unless France also takes people back from the United Kingdom," says Michael McNamara, a lawyer and member of the Irish Parliament. “It’s certainly workable to fix the flaws in the legislation that were identified by the Irish High Court, but it’s academic if nobody is going to be transferred, which is the current situation."Interesting to see how Yvette Cooper, the new Home Secretary, responsible for immigration in Britain, handles this hot potato !
John Hawkes ● 555d