British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday on his first full day in office that he is scrapping a controversial Conservative policy to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda as he vowed to get change in motion, though he warned it will take time. “The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started,” Starmer said in his first news conference. “It’s never acted as a deterrent. Almost the opposite.”
Quick Read
- New UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the termination of the controversial Conservative policy to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda, declaring the scheme “dead and buried.”
- Starmer emphasized that the Rwanda plan, which cost hundreds of millions but was never implemented, failed to act as a deterrent for asylum seekers.
- The announcement was made during Starmer’s first news conference, following his initial Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing St.
- Starmer’s Labour Party achieved a historic landslide victory, defeating the Conservatives with the largest margin in their two-century history.
- The new government faces significant challenges, including revitalizing the economy, fixing the National Health Service (NHS), and restoring public trust.
- Starmer will attend a NATO summit in Washington next week and host the European Political Community summit on July 18.
- Starmer highlighted priorities such as securing borders and addressing the broader global migration crisis.
- The Labour government must develop new solutions for managing migrants crossing the English Channel, as it dismantles the Rwanda deportation scheme.
- Conservative hardliner Suella Braverman criticized Starmer’s decision to end the Rwanda pact, warning of potential future problems.
- Starmer’s Cabinet members are already taking action, with Foreign Secretary David Lammy traveling to Germany, Poland, and Sweden, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting planning new negotiations with NHS doctors.
The Associated Press has the story:
New UK PM Starmer: Controversial Rwanda deportation plan is ‘dead & buried’
Newslooks- LONDON (AP) —
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday on his first full day in office that he is scrapping a controversial Conservative policy to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda as he vowed to get change in motion, though he warned it will take time. “The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started,” Starmer said in his first news conference. “It’s never acted as a deterrent. Almost the opposite.”
The announcement was widely expected because Starmer said he would ditch the plan that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars but never taken flight. The news conference followed his first Cabinet meeting as the new government takes on the massive challenge of fixing a heap of domestic woes and winning over a public weary from years of austerity, political chaos and a battered economy.
Starmer welcomed the new ministers around the table at 10 Downing St., saying it had been the honor of his life to be asked by King Charles III to form a government in a ceremony that officially elevated him to prime minister. “We have a huge amount of work to do, so now we get on with our work,” he said.
Starmer told reporters in a wood-paneled room at 10 Downing St. that he was “restless for change,” but would not commit to how soon Britons would feel improvements in their standards of living or public services.
The 30-minute question-and-answer session followed his first Cabinet meeting as his new government takes on the massive challenge of fixing a heap of domestic woes and winning over a public weary from years of austerity, political chaos and a battered economy.
“We have a huge amount of work to do, so now we get on with our work,” Starmer told them.
Starmer’s Cabinet features a record number of women — 11 of 25 ministers. Nearly all members went to public schools, another record that is a sharp break from Conservative ministers who have historically come with private school pedigrees.
“I’m proud of the fact that we have people around the Cabinet table who didn’t have the easiest of starts in life,” Starmer said.
Among a raft of problems they must tackle are boosting a sluggish economy, fixing an ailing health care system, and restoring trust in government.
“Just because Labour won a big landslide doesn’t mean all the problems that the Conservative government has faced has gone away,” said Tim Bale, politics professor at Queen Mary University of London.
Starmer in his first remarks as prime minister Friday singled out several of the big items, such as fixing the revered but hobbled National Health Service and securing the U.K.’s borders, a reference to a larger global problem of absorbing an influx of migrants fleeing war, poverty as well as drought, heat waves and floods attributed to climate change.
Starmer’s Labour Party delivered the biggest blow to the Conservatives in their two-century history Friday in a landslide victory on a platform of change. Among a raft of problems they face are boosting a sluggish economy, fixing a broken health care system, and restoring trust in government.
“Just because Labour won a big landslide doesn’t mean all the problems that the Conservative government has faced has gone away,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.
Conservatives struggled to stem the flow of migrants arriving across the English Channel, failing to live up to ex-Prime Minister’s Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats.”
The controversial Rwanda plan was billed as a solution that would deter migrants from risking their lives on a journey that could end up with them being deported to East Africa. So far, it has cost the government hundreds of millions of dollars and never taken flight.
Starmer denounced it as a “gimmick,” though it’s unclear what he will do differently as a record number of people have come ashore in the first six months of the year.
“Labour is going to need to find a solution to the small boats coming across the channel,” Bale said. “It’s going to ditch the Rwanda scheme, but it’s going to have to come up with other solutions to deal with that particular problem.”
Suella Braverman, a Conservative hard liner on immigration who is a possible contender to replace Sunak as party leader, criticized Starmer’s plan to end the Rwanda pact.
“Years of hard work, acts of Parliament, millions of pounds been spent on a scheme which had it been delivered properly would have worked,” she said Saturday. “There are big problems on the horizon which will be, I’m afraid, caused by Keir Starmer.”
Starmer will have a busy schedule following the six-week campaign. He heads out Sunday to visit each of the four nations of the U.K. — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. He plans to meet with metropolitan mayors, regardless of party, saying he’s not a “tribal politician.”
He will then travel to Washington for a NATO meeting Tuesday and will host the European Political Community summit July 18, the day after the state opening of Parliament and the King’s Speech, which sets out the new government’s agenda.
Starmer has had phone calls with several world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Union leader Ursula von der Leyen and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He sent Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Saturday to Germany, Poland and Sweden.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he would open new negotiations next week with NHS doctors at the start of their career who have staged a series of multi-day strikes. The pay dispute has exacerbated the long wait for appointments that have become a hallmark of the NHS’s problems.
In starker language than he’s used before, Starmer echoed Streeting’s description of the NHS as “broken.”
“Everybody who uses it and works in it knows that it is broken,” he said. “We’re not going to operate under the pretense or language that doesn’t express the problem as it is because otherwise we won’t be able to fix the problem as quickly as we need to.”
In his first remarks as prime minister Friday after the “kissing of hands” ceremony with Charles at Buckingham Palace, Starmer said he would get to work immediately, though he cautioned it would take some time to show results., “Changing a country is not like flicking a switch,” he said as enthusiastic supporters cheered him outside his new official residence at 10 Downing. “This will take a while. But have no doubt that the work of change begins — immediately.”
He will have a busy schedule following the six-week campaign crossing the four nations of the U.K. He will travel to Washington next week for a NATO meeting and will host the European Political Community summit July 18, the day after the state opening of Parliament and the King’s Speech, which sets out the new government’s agenda.
Starmer singled out several of the big items Friday, such as fixing the revered but hobbled National Health Service and securing its borders, a reference a larger global problem across Europe and the U.S. of absorbing an influx of migrants fleeing war, poverty as well as drought, heat waves and floods attributed to climate change.
Conservatives struggled to stem the flow of migrants arriving across the English Channel, failing to live up to ex-Prime Minister’s Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats” that led to the controversial plan to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda.
“Labour is going to need to find a solution to the small boats coming across the channel,” Bale said. “It’s going to ditch the Rwanda scheme, but it’s going to have to come up with other solutions to deal with that particular problem.” Suella Braverman, a Conservative hard liner on immigration who is a possible contender to replace Sunak as party leader, criticized Starmer’s plan to end the Rwanda pact.
“Years of hard work, acts of Parliament, millions of pounds been spent on a scheme which had it been delivered properly would have worked,” she said Saturday. “There are big problems on the horizon which will be I’m afraid caused by Keir Starmer.”
Starmer’s Cabinet is also getting to work. Foreign Secretary David Lammy was to begin his first international trip Saturday to meet counterparts in Germany, Poland and Sweden to reinforce the importance of their relationship.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he would open new negotiations next week with NHS doctors at the start of their career who have staged a series of multi-day strikes. The pay dispute has exacerbated the long wait for appointments that have become a hallmark of the NHS’s problems.
