Labour is reportedly considering a scheme that would see asylum seekers’ claims processed elsewhere.
Keir Starmer is mulling “detailed plans” for an offshoring scheme as he seeks to deter Tory attacks on Labour’s alternative to the Rwanda plan, the Times said on Monday.
The Labour leader has previously dismissed the plan to deport people to the African nation as a “gimmick” and made clear his party’s opposition.
However, the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, and shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock have reportedly been speaking to asylum experts, former home secretary David Blunkett and other European countries to draw up an alternative proposal to tackle small boats crossings in the Channel.
Well hang on - if you hand the problem of processing the applications off to a third party along with suitably constructed incentives and penalties to ensure fast and accurate processing in line with our actual rules on asylum, isn’t that solving the problem rather than tinkering with it? The problem is blatantly that the government slow rolls the applications because a graph that shows an increase in asylum applications being granted is political suicide - and the home office follow their lead. Give it to a neutral third party and you can avoid looking like you’re going easy on people whilst also doing a fast and effective job of assessing the claims
You maybe in to something but I don’t have any faith in the HomeOffice absolving themselves of responsibility behind a third party contract which will, let’s face it, not be as watertight as we would hope.