If Sunak doesn’t commit the Conservatives to leaving, and then somehow wins the next election, the next Leader of the Opposition will take up the cause.
Labour are happy to hammer the Government for it’s lack of progress, but lack any convincing alternative plan to make the system effective and bring numbers down.
Why should a previous government’s commitment to the international community trump (in practice if not in legal theory) a later government’s commitments to the British people?
They clearly believe that judges are increasingly taking upon themselves the role of MPs – and are willing to leave the Convention in consequence.
The case hinges on Rwanda’s capacity to deliver the necessary safeguards, not on any claim that the entire policy is a breach of international law.
He could look again at short sentences. I wanted to scrap them – they are counter-productive in reducing reoffending and cause a great deal of disruption to prisons.
No, his does not mean that the UK has become “ungovernable” or that it will be “impossible for Ministers to do their job” or that his departure is a victory for “the Remainer blob” or evidence that the public sector is full of “snowflakes”.
They have been introduced in response to backbench pressure – with the Government seeming to accept the argument that the Bill as introduced was vulnerable to litigation. Parliament should accept them, but should be aware that some risks remain.
For whatever reason, he may be morphing into the politician I hoped he would become – the moderate man whose patience is exhausted.
Downing Street seems to think that one day’s bad publicity over clearing the backlog is a price worth paying for sorting the small boats problem. It needs to do so now more than ever.
Channel crossings are a specific challenge that warrant a robust response: the Home Secretary should be mandated to ensure all who arrive by such means are removed.
The European Court of Human Rights seems unlikely to block the Rwanda policy outright, but it could try to foul it up until after the next election.
It may be possible to be in favour of upholding the GFA and maintaining Northern Ireland’s place in the union whilst also favouring withdrawing from the Convention, but I am struggling to see how.
When push comes to shove, what will matter will be whether or not the arrivals stop – or at least that the voters believe that the Prime Minister really wants to halt them and is sparing no effort.
“There is an extensive body of research that demonstrates the damaging effects on social trust and cohesion from uncontrolled migration.”