Lawanya Ra Chandra, Stoke Socialist Party, Tamil Solidarity and Refugee Rights
The Tories’ plan to send desperate people seeking asylum to Rwanda has been ruled unlawful. A majority of Court of Appeal judges said Rwanda could not be treated as a safe third country.
The government has tried to claim the plan will deter people arriving in the UK through “illegal or dangerous methods”, such as on small boats across the English Channel. But as Tory home secretary Suella Braverman admits, these people would be swiftly deported to Rwanda on a one-way ticket.
Protests
This scheme has been unpopular from the start. Protests took place across the UK to stop this scheme.
Tamil Solidarity and the Refugee Rights Campaign also organised a protest against the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda. These protests have helped push the government back and stop deportation flights.
Deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda is part of the Tories’ hostile racist immigration policies. The government can’t be trusted to offer a safe and prosperous future for anyone, except rich billionaires.
The Rwanda plan and the government’s failed attempt to stop small boats are yet more ways the Tories try to divide workers and blame migrants for the problems and crisis caused by this government’s hated policies.
But it is the capitalists and their policies that are to blame. The government is interested in wasting more money on this scheme, instead of investing in the jobs, homes and services that we need.
Waste
The Rwanda scheme has already cost the taxpayer £140 million, without anybody having gone to Rwanda. And the Tories have admitted how much more money could be wasted on it.
The government estimates it will cost £169,000 extra to send each person to Rwanda. That’s £63,000 more than if they were allowed to stay in Britain!
Even the figure for housing people here is inflated. The Tories waste millions of pounds giving money to private landlords and hotels. A mass council house building programme would mean a decent place to live for everyone, wherever you’re born.
There are 500,000 homes currently sitting empty in the UK. Why can’t this government provide houses for everyone?
Asylum seekers must be allowed to work in union-organised workplaces, and could then fight for the rate for the job with other trade unionists.
Rishi Sunak has promised to appeal the case in the Supreme Court.
Tragedy
The recent Greece migrant boat disaster claimed the lives of up to 600 individuals (see ‘Greek authorities lie about preventable migrant tragedy’ at socialistparty.org.uk). Migrants are struggling to reach a safe place to seek asylum.
Nobody wants to risk their life in dangerous crossings. They do so because they have nothing to lose. These are victims of capitalist war, poverty and misery.
Immigrant workers, refugees and workers born here face the same struggles. Hundreds of thousands of workers have been striking for inflation-proof pay rises in the last year.
Trade unions that fight for their members hold great potential to incorporate migrant workers into the workers’ movement, and ensuring fair remuneration for all employees.
It’s not enough to simply say ‘refugees welcome here’. We have to fight for a secure and dignified quality of living standard too.
The Socialist Party calls for mass investment into jobs, homes, and services for all. We must ensure that the wealth, major industries, and banks are no longer controlled solely by the super-rich, but rather nationalised, so they can be distributed democratically to address the needs of all.
