At his first press conference on Saturday, July 6, 2024, Starmer said that the plan put out by the Conservative Party will no longer be implemented.
The prime minister said that the previous government’s plan to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the English Channel in tiny boats to enter the UK was “dead and buried before it started.”
It has never served as a disincentive. At 10 Downing St., Starmer held his first Cabinet meeting and said, “Almost the opposite.”
The head of the Labour Party had promised to abandon the Rwanda proposal if the party won the general election on July 4. The party did just that, capturing almost 400 seats in a landslide on Friday. After 14 years, the Conservatives lost the poll.
The Conservative Party’s Rishi Sunak, who preceded Starmer, had previously declared that the first planes to Rwanda would leave following the polls.
In April, Sunak’s intentions to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda were approved by Parliament following a vote on a controversial measure deeming the nation secure.
Previously, the Lords had declined to approve the measure without additional changes, such as removing the clause that prevented agents, allies, and foreign workers of the United Kingdom—including Afghans who served with the British Armed Forces—from being sent to Rwanda.
In order to guarantee that the plan had “due regard” for both domestic and international law, the Lords also sought more stringent oversight of Rwanda’s safety for asylum seekers.
Even after the law was passed, no one was deported to Rwanda. However, it was alleged that two unsuccessful asylum applicants were granted a £3,000 inducement and relocated to Rwanda willingly as part of a different deal.
After reaching an agreement with Rwandan officials, the administration of former prime minister Boris Johnson initially unveiled the Rwanda plan in April 2022.
Following a decision by the UK Supreme Court that the government’s plan was illegal, the bill was brought before Parliament. The justices held that sincere refugees who were sent to Rwanda ran the possibility of being sent back to danger-ridden nations. The accusations were refuted by the Rwandan government.
Under the voluntary arrangement, Sunak’s administration intended to pay unsuccessful asylum applicants up to £3,000 (RWF 4,866,727) in exchange for their relocation to Rwanda.
