Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Don’t miss this special offer - 12 issues for just £12!
SUBSCRIBE
Politics

No Rwanda flights before election, Sunak admits – as calls for urgent asylum reform grow louder

Rishi Sunak's decision to call a 4 July general election puts the future of the Rwanda scheme into doubt. The election is a chance for wider change, say migrant charities

Rishi Sunak after calling the 4 July general election

Image: Edward Massey/CCHQ/Flickr

Rishi Sunak has admitted flights to Rwanda will not take off before the 4 July general election – with the scheme to go ahead if he is re-elected. If elected, Labour will scrap the plans, putting the likelihood of planes taking off in doubt.

Sunak’s policies as prime minister saw hundreds of newly-recognised refugees pushed into homelessness, and his government has fought in the courts to save the costly deportation scheme.

Migrant charities say the next government must fundamentally reform the asylum system.

“The next government must make an urgent commitment to repeal the Illegal Migration Act and the Safety of Rwanda Act, which are causing significant fear and hardship in refugee communities, driving people to disengage with essential support services and making them more vulnerable to homelessness and destitution,” said Bridget Young, director of NACCOM.

Although the election throws the future of the Rwanda scheme into doubt, the UK has already committed to paying the central African nation £370m. If flights do take off, it will cost the UK £1.8m for each of the first 300 people sent to have their claims processed in Rwanda.

The mass eviction of refugees into homelessness sparked anger among local government and voluntary organisations, who complained of a lack of coordination and information. An election is a chance to mend those relationships, added Young.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

“With a new government also comes a chance to forge new, productive relationships with the voluntary and public sector, and those with lived experience, who stand ready to collaborate and provide evidence-based solutions that benefit and strengthen communities, rather than divide and weaken them,” Young said.

Wider reform is needed to achieve this, said Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council

“The simple truth is that the next government will be facing an asylum system in meltdown, as the backlog of cases without a decision keeps getting bigger and bigger,” Solomon said.

“It must quickly process all asylum claims and restore the right to asylum for any person who comes to our country seeking safety, so they are given a fair hearing on UK soil and treated with the dignity and humanity they deserve. Anybody who has been detained should now be immediately released.”

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Never miss an issue

Take advantage of our special subscription offer. Subscribe from just £9.99 and never miss an issue.

Recommended for you

View all
'How many more children must die?': British Palestinians plead with UK to act as Gaza's people starve
A protest for Gaza and Palestine outside Wesminister.
Gaza

'How many more children must die?': British Palestinians plead with UK to act as Gaza's people starve

'Starmer needs to be more scared of us than Reform': Zack Polanski on how the Greens can outflank Farage
Zack Polanski
Politics

'Starmer needs to be more scared of us than Reform': Zack Polanski on how the Greens can outflank Farage

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey: 'My first political meeting was being dragged to a Tory disco'
Letter To My Younger Self

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey: 'My first political meeting was being dragged to a Tory disco'

Working class and young people are ditching Labour. 'Aping Reform' won't bring them back
Politics

Working class and young people are ditching Labour. 'Aping Reform' won't bring them back

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.