Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have vowed to dramatically expand Rwanda’s scheme to remove asylum seekers as they bid with increasing ferocity for Tory members’ votes in the party leadership race.
Both appeal to the right of the party with commitments on immigration described as “cruel” by charities.
In a bid to underline his Brexiter credentials, Sunak said he would do “whatever it takes” to get the stalled Rwanda plan “off the ground and working at scale”, along with a pledge to pursue further “migration partnerships” with other countries.
Other commitments in a 10-point plan set out by the former chancellor include capping the number of refugees the UK would accept each year, ending the use of hotels to house migrants while their applications are being processed stay in the UK and keep the aid money. of countries that refuse to take back failed asylum seekers and criminals.
Sunak also took veiled shots at Boris Johnson’s declaration over the weekend that his prime minister had achieved the core Brexit goal of regaining control of the UK’s borders.
The Prime Minister wrote in an article for the Sunday Express that “we took back control of our borders” and declared victory on his 2019 pledge to “get the job done” to deliver Brexit, adding: ” That’s exactly what I did.”
But Sunak eviscerated the assessment, saying in a new social media video posted Sunday morning that “we don’t have control of our borders” and immigration should be legal, orderly and controlled, but “right now, it’s not none of these things.”
Meanwhile, Truss said she was “determined to see the Rwanda policy through to full implementation, as well as exploring other countries where we can work in similar partnerships.”
He vowed not to “bow down” to the European human rights convention, which blocked the inaugural migrant deportation flight to Rwanda last month, and to reform the UK’s relationship with the court “so it works better”.
Despite being a Brexit convert who voted to remain in the 2016 EU referendum, the foreign secretary is seeking to present herself as the true heir to Johnson who will finish the job of overhauling immigration
Frontline Border Force capacity would be increased by 20% if she became prime minister, Truss promised, allowing more Channel patrols to be carried out to help curb the number of small boat crossings.
“I will make sure we have the right levels of force and protection at our borders,” Truss added.
Charities raised alarm over immigration plans. Oxfam’s Sam Nadel said: “This shows that the heat of the campaign leads to bad politics. If the former chancellor wins this race, he will be more than a party leader, he will be prime minister and world leader.
“Meeting a world in desperate crisis – facing climate change, hunger and conflict – with cruel policies like these will not live up to the role. We need more help and safe and legal routes to the UK.”
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, also urged the two candidates to “take a new direction” and abandon the Rwanda plan. Instead, he called for more safe routes and humanitarian visas.
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“Whoever becomes our next prime minister must replace our broken asylum system with a system that is fair, humane and orderly,” Solomon said.
“This is an opportunity to commit to increasing safe routes, such as family reunification and humanitarian visas, so that people at risk of violence and persecution do not have to make dangerous journeys to find safety here. We urge our next Prime Minister to take a new direction and abandon Rwanda’s cruel scheme.”
After Johnson’s bid to save his administration in recent months with “Operation Red Meat”, which saw the government pursue controversial policies designed to appeal directly to the Tory base, it is likely that a similar tactic will be used by the contenders for the leadership during the following months.
They have just six weeks left to win over more than 160,000 Conservative members who will choose the next British Prime Minister, with the winner to be announced on September 5.
Truss appears to remain the favorite in polls among party members, but Sunak has emerged as the underdog and suggested that “the forces in place” in the party wanted his rival to win.