DAILY MAIL COMMENT: No ifs, no buts: Let’s end the Channel crisis
Every prime minister since 2010 has promised to find a solution to the seemingly intractable issue of illegal migration.
So far it has eluded them. But is that about to change? Rishi Sunak has pledged to crack down on the small boats bringing migrants across the Channel – no ifs, no buts.
In truth, he has little choice – regaining control of Britain’s borders is crucial to Tory prospects at the next election.
Most voters are horrified that thousands are landing unlawfully on our beaches and strolling with impunity into new lives here.
The best way to stop this appalling scandal is to convince migrants that coming to the UK without permission is futile.
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Every prime minister since 2010 has promised to find a solution to the seemingly intractable issue of illegal migration
Mr Sunak’s flagship Bill hinges on barring Channel migrants from claiming asylum here, then detaining and deporting them swiftly. That would be a powerful deterrent.
However, his plans face major obstacles. Even before it was published, the legislation had run into fierce opposition from the Left – Labour, the Whitehall ‘blob’, shroud-waving charities and human rights lawyers.
They will use every trick in the book to resist attempts to remove those who have no right to be here, thwarting a government trying to enact the British people’s wishes.
To the liberal orthodoxy, every Channel-hopper is fleeing war and death. The reality is, the majority are economic migrants.
Predictably, Labour carps that the crackdown is ‘unworkable’. But what are its answers? Tougher enforcement against traffickers (who operate outside the UK) and accelerating the asylum process (which human rights laws make devilishly tricky).
The truth is, Sir Keir Starmer has no interest in controlling migration because he is ideologically wedded to free movement. One thing that would solve the small boats racket at a stroke is if France took back every illegal migrant.
Now Mr Sunak’s new Brexit deal has thawed relations with Europe, he should suggest the idea when he meets Emmanuel Macron on Friday. Destroying the incentive to sail would end the migrant flood.
Come clean, Sir Keir
Sir Keir likes nothing more than to lecture others about the importance of openness, honesty and integrity in public life.
But when it comes to transparency about his own political dealings, Labour’s leader gives a masterclass in evasiveness.
Nine times he was asked during a radio interview when he first approached top civil servant Sue Gray to become his chief of staff. Nine times he refused to answer.
‘There’s nothing improper,’ he spluttered. If that’s the case, why won’t shifty Sir Keir tell us when he offered her the job?
By advising ministers on sensitive matters of government while simultaneously in secret meetings with Labour, Ms Gray has broken up to four anti-sleaze rules.
She has proven that large parts of our supposedly independent civil service exist as another branch of the Left-wing, Tory-loathing blob. And to the public, it looks grubby that the woman whose Partygate probe helped oust Boris Johnson is now consorting with the opposition.
With Angela Rayner dismissing the episode as a Tory conspiracy theory, it’s clear Labour is rattled. Sir Keir must now meet his own self-righteous standards and come clean.
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Sir Keir likes nothing more than to lecture others about the importance of openness, honesty and integrity in public life (Pictured Sue Gray)
A foolish tax hike
Leaving the EU was meant to unlock Britain’s swashbuckling entrepreneurial spirit, turbocharging prosperity.
Instead, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt risks choking off our post-pandemic recovery by heaping more taxes on the economy.
Pressing ahead with a six percentage point rise in corporation tax on April 1 would hammer businesses, deter inward investment, jeopardise jobs and undermine competitiveness. Abandon the hike, Chancellor – don’t be an April Fool.
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt risks choking off our post-pandemic recovery by heaping more taxes on the economy
Source: Read Full Article
