Opposing the Safety of Rwanda Bill
This week in Parliament the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill came back to the Commons for the considerations. The Bill in my view, is the latest attempt in a long line of Government gimmicks, to whip up toxicity in the immigration debate instead of dealing with very real issues posing threats to the safety of refugees on the ground.
The Rwanda Bill is inhumane, unworkable and cruel. The Bill breaches many of our obligations under international law, particularly those surrounding Human Rights and undermines our commitments under the 1951 Refugee Convention. These are the very laws that the UK helped develop, but now this Government are attempting to throw away to fit their nasty agenda.
Public services are on the verge of collapse, the gap between rich and poor has widened, and we are slipping back into the Victorian era. Food bank use is at an all-time high, and workers have not had a decent pay rise in 15 years. Yet the focus of this Government is to turn away from our international obligations in order to drive down immigration numbers to pander to the most extremes of their membership in their supposed priority of "stopping the boats".
We have seen the Government continuously pushing an anti-refugee agenda whipping up hatred and creating significant toxicity in the conversation surrounding the UK’s immigration policy. During debates on the issue of the Illegal Migrant Act we have heard Conservative MPs say that "country is nearly full" which is not only disgusting but above all simply untrue.
But what are we to expect when the former Home Secretary has used phrases such as "invasion" and saying the country's current asylum system would allow hundreds of millions of people to come here. It's reckless, it's inflammatory and it’s dangerous.
If this Government were serious about resolving the issues surrounding small boats, they would do more to target the people traffickers who are profiteering from the desperation of refugees.
They would also provide safe and legal routes so that people do not make those perilous journeys across the Channel. The people risking their lives on small boats are not doing so lightly, they are often fleeing war persecution and are some of the most vulnerable people in the world. They are not the Conservative party’s scapegoats to blame for their own Government’s failure.
It is not the fault of refugees that the NHS is on its knees. It is not the fault of refugees that people cannot access GP and dental services. It is not the fault of refugees that people are not able to access decent affordable housing.
The people to blame are those who are spewing this agenda and stoking up culture wars to distract from their failings. It’s the Conservative Government who have been in charge for 14 years and have managed the country so poorly that we are left with current situation we have. A cost-of-living crisis, the biggest fall in living standards in history and our public services on their knees. The buck stops with them.
I am proud that here in Liverpool we are a city of sanctuary, and our communities are pulling together to support asylum seekers and refugees. We will step up and provide support whilst the Government choose to turn their back.
I took the decision alongside my colleagues in the Labour to vote in support of amendments to this Bill that would have protected victims of modern slavery and those who work with the UK military overseas such as Afghan interpreters from being threatened with deportation to Rwanda. Unfortunately, the Government with the support of many of their Conservative MP’s voted to against these protections.
I have consistently called out this Governments treatment of refugees and I have been proud to vote against this Bill at every stage. It should be consigned to the dustbin.