What would you do with £360 million?

[mikeyB]

Well, if you are Rishi Sunak, that is the amount of money given to Rwanda for dumping the "illegal" folk arriving in small boats for asylum. Of course, this has been shown to be illegal by the highest courts in the land, because they don't believe Rwanda is a safe country for immigrants.

£360 million could build new hospitals, or raising benefit payments and so forth. Instead of bribes in Rwanda, where nobody will fly any of these asylum seekers to Rwanda because it is illegal.

Of course the 600,000 legal immigrants from Ukraine and Hong Kong don't face this - if they can find jobs they get paid 20% less than a native Brit. If you are an employer, who would you hire? Mind you, a job that pays the minimum "Living" wage, that cannot legally be reduced. Or can it?

I don't like living in a country that thinks all this is quite normal.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Of course the 600,000 legal immigrants from Ukraine and Hong Kong don't face this - if they can find jobs they get paid 20% less than a native Brit.

I believe eliminating that is part of the plan. (I'm not sure why we ever had it.)

 

[berryr99]

This is well said

 

[Bruce Stephens]

£360 million could

I think it's £240 million and £50 million next year, so a mere £290 million. (So far.)

Which (while not that significant to the UK) is more than Rwanda gets in PAYE tax annually and nearly 1/4 of their total tax revenue. (About 2.5% of their GDP.)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1733142732351115567

 

[Docb]

I wonder where the money has actually gone. Swiss bank accounts of the Rawanda elite maybe?

Also, we only hear about the money given to Rawanda. Nobody mentions the internal UK government costs.

Like much of what this government has done, there is a malodorous smell about it.

 

[nonethewiser]

Get what your saying but something needs to be done about illegal immigrants coming across in thousands in small boats, what the solution is no idea much like this government, ones before & ones after Sunak is booted out.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Get what your saying but something needs to be done about illegal immigrants coming across in thousands in small boats, what the solution is no idea much like this government, ones before & ones after Sunak is booted out.

Something has to be done, but not this. Which (apart from any other reasons for disliking it) just isn't likely to work.

 

[maryjaneholland]

Has anyone here living in UK experienced the effects of the cost of living crisis, or the housing crisis, or fuel crisis, or food poverty, or child poverty, or homelessness, etc?!

I call "shade" and manipulative red herring argument for our government prioritising immigration over these and many other extremely important issues in our society, including tackling global warming, threat of climate change and rising sea levels for an island nation, and the widening inequality gap between the super-rich (non-dom non-taxpayer!) and the extremely poor and destitute being told they aren't entitled to basic Universal Credit or food bank voucher because "computer says no" and they turn to crime out of total desperation... Wealthy owners of the tabloid newspapers love to stoke division and good culture war to divide and conquer, so have you noticed how the voices of real asylum seekers and refugees never appear in the press, and there's no platform for any high profile public figure to advocate on their behalf either? They are voiceless people, but I would like to hear their stories and experiences of those who survived civil wars and total breakdown of civilised society and still have hope of starting new lives in new country, we all have something to learn from these survivors of unbelievable unimaginable horrors.

 

[Northerner]

It's all just bad electioneering. Sunak has been trying throughout the summer and autumn to find things that the Tories can use as election attacks on Labour,- all have been bad and none has worked. Small boats week, Bibby Stockholm, Net Zero, War on (for) Motorists, HS2, Nat. Ins. tax cut, Rwanda - I've probably missed a few, but all have totally backfired. All the while, the government has failed to govern, they haven't actually 'governed' since 2016 They are an eviscerated party of third-rate politicians who are totally out of ideas. As @Docb rightly points out - what are the costs in both money and resources that government have incurred? £Billions upon £billions, I have no doubt.

 

[maryjaneholland]

And here's another narrative for genuine refugees and asylum seekers (not economic migrants) claiming asylum in the UK after fleeing failed states, genocide, war zones, military conflict and persecution, and no it's not "free houses, free cars, free income, free healthcare or London streets paved with gold also free", it's death on floating barge after being exploited by criminal gangs and travelling across the world, unfortunately... I guess this news article will be triggering for some referencing suicide, so please ignore if your mental health and wellbeing comes first...

Asylum seeker found dead on the Bibby Stockholm barge

Migrants were moved back onto the barge in October following a legionella scare

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Drummer]

If I had a bit more money I'd take off one of my jumpers and turn on the heating, load the dishwasher and the washing machine, fill the car with petrol, and the camper van with diesel, and send it to be serviced.
If I had a lot more money I'd find a new home for a family member with children, at present living in a damp property with too few bedrooms, steep stairs and a disabled wife.
Then I'd be able to sleep at night and decide what to do with the rest of it because no one can make good decisions when they stay awake worrying.

 

[maryjaneholland]

Our government have voted for the Rwanda policy narrowly, but it has to get through the House of Lords and most likely many legal challenges as opting out of human rights legislation which protects us all is no small feat and human rights are not "gifts" from our government... The hostile environment and new crackdown on all immigration will cause problems in healthcare and social care professions and will disproportionately effect disabled people, including those with diabetes who are dependent upon carers and cleaners all earning less than £40k threshold doing long hours low paid (and unpaid) work to support disabled people to live independently, bit like how the fallout from Brexit created massive labour shortages in catering, hospitality, fruit & veg pickers, seasonal workers, care work as EU nationals left the UK to work anywhere else in Europe... And Nigel Farage is now TV personality on reality shows, aw bless him, what a mess...

Disabled people ‘will feel the sharp end’ of Cleverly’s immigration ‘crackdown’

Disabled people who rely on care workers are likely to “feel the sharp end” of the government’s planned changes to the immigration system, campaigners have warned. The new home secretary, James Cle…

www.disabilitynewsservice.com

 

[mikeyB]

The Tory Party are using Rwanda as a threat to put people coming to Britain via "illegal" means might meaning that they will immediately sent to Rwanda. That threat is looking shakier due to the highest court in Britain declaring that it is illegal. And the immigrants know that - as does Rwanda, who are happy to receive all the money that we have given to them.