Tag Archives: Immigration

What Is The Immigration Deal Italy Has Struck With Albania That Keir Starmer Might Copy?

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Keir Starmer today declared that he was bringing back “British pragmatism”.

But does that stretch to copying the approach of Italy’s hard-right prime minister when it comes to tackling illegal immigration?

Starmer laughed and joked with Giorgia Meloni when the pair met in Rome.

The PM praised the “remarkable progress” the Italian government has made in reducing the number of migrants entering the country illegally.

In the past year, there has been a 60% drop in boat crossings from north Africa to Italy – a record that Starmer, and his predecessor Rishi Sunak, could only dream about as large numbers of asylum seekers continue to come across the Channel from France.

So how has Italy done it? And what are the chances of the UK government following suit?

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Italy has struck financial agreements with countries like Tunisia and Libya to stop the boats setting off in the first place.

The cash is designed to boost economic growth in Africa, as well as limiting the number of migrants trying to reach Italy via the Mediterranean Sea.

Sunak agreed a similar arrangement with France, but it seems to have had little impact so far in stemming the flow of boats reaching British shores.

Figures released by the Home Office showed that more than 1,000 migrants arrived on 20 boats over the weekend.

Meloni’s Albania Agreement

The Italian PM wants to go even further by processing asylum applications in a third country, namely Albania.

Under a deal struck with the government in Tirana, anyone making it to Italy would be sent to Albania to have their claims for asylum dealt with.

Any successful applications would return to Italy, but those who fail will be returned to their own country.

At her press conference with Starmer in Rome today, Meloni said she hoped the scheme would be up and running in weeks.

What’s more, she said the PM was “very interested” in how it worked during their discussions.

Asked earlier in the day whether he would consider seeking a similar agreement to deal with asylum seekers in Britain, Starmer said: “Let’s see. It’s early days, I’m interested in how that works, I think everybody else is. It’s very, very early days.”

Isn’t That A Bit Like Rwanda?

The idea of deporting asylum seekers to a third country is very similar to the Rwanda scheme drawn up by the last Tory government and dumped by Labour as soon as they took office in July.

There is one major difference, though. Under the Rwanda deal, the asylum seekers would not have been able to come back to the UK, regardless of whether their asylum claim was granted or not.

Heaping praise on Meloni’s approach, Starmer told her: “You’ve made remarkable progress working with countries along migration routes as equals to address the drivers of migration, of source and to tackle the [smuggling] gangs.”

And in a strong hint that he may well follow her example of how to deal with the issue of illegal migration, the PM said: “We are pragmatists, first and foremost. When we see a challenge, we discuss with our friends and allies the different approaches that are being taken, look at what works, and that’s the approach that we’ve taken today. And it’s been a very productive day.”

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Labour Minister Patrick Vallance Calls For Easier Migration From EU To Boost Science Industry

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A Labour minister has called for easier migration to the UK from the European Union in an apparent break from government policy.

Patrick Vallance, who was given a life peerage and appointed science minister following the election, said “Brexit was definitely a problem”.

He said he wanted to see the visa rules loosened to make it easier for scientists and their families to live in the UK.

Vallance’s comments put him at odds with Keir Starmer, who has insisted Labour will not bring back freedom of movement with the EU.

Speaking on Radio 4′s World At One, Vallance , who was the government’s chief scientific adviser during the Covid pandemic, said leaving the EU had damaged the competitiveness of the UK science sector.

He said: “Brexit was definitely a problem for science. We were part of a very successful European funding scheme with very large collaborations right the way across Europe which took a setback when we had to leave that scheme, and getting back into it has been a big achievement. I’m really pleased we are back in it.”

That was a reference to the Horizon scheme, a Europe-wide scientific co-operation project which the UK has agreed to rejoin after initially leaving as a result of the Brexit vote.

Asked if he would be pushing the prime minister to agree closer ties with the EU, even if that meant making concessions on free movement, the minister said: “You can’t do the type of science that everyone is trying to do to make progress in isolation.

“You need brains that come with other backgrounds, other thought processes, other training.”

On loosening the visa rules, Vallance said: “There is an opportunity there to try and make this easier for people who come in to do contributions to scientific knowledge creation and to companies.

“We’ve got to be realistic as to how we do that, but we need to be as competitive as other countries in terms of attracting that talent.”

He added: “There are lots of visa issues, including the cost, which is very high at the moment for people coming to the UK, that needs to be looked at.

“We need to think about how we make the environment right for people to come who we want to have here contributing to science.”

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Channel 4 Presenter Uses ‘Basic Economics’ To Debunk Reform Leader’s Latest Migration Claim

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Reform UK’s Richard Tice was torn apart on Channel 4 News last night when he tried to blame the NHS’s struggles and our economic woes on immigration.

Tice – who does not have a seat in parliament at the moment – said the Tories are terrified of his party splitting their vote, because Brits know the Conservatives have “broken Britain”.

He explained: “Slower healthcare, more health delays, ambulance delays, A&E delays, greater waiting lists – the greatest ever. Why?

“Because the huge extra pressure, because the Tories have betrayed Britain on mass immigration.”

The Conservatives vowed to cut migration, but recent stats showed net migration reached a historic high under Tory rule.

Channel 4 News’ Cathy Newman replied: “Well, the waiting lists could be just as much to do with the fact that we’ve got an ageing population, a sicker population.

“Migrants tend to be pretty young,” she pointed out.

“Actually it’s all to do with the extra surge in demand,” Tice said.

’What, the NHS waiting list?” Newman said with incredulity. “All the migrants are young, they’re not going to put particular pressure on…”

“So you’re saying that none of the 2.5m who have arrived here in the last two years, none of them are using the NHS? That’s ridiculous, Cathy. It’s a serious contributor,” Tice replied.

“No, I’m just querying your evidence for that,” Newman said.

“The evidence for that is… All elements of healthcare is a disaster,” Tice said.

Newman asked if he really believed Reform’s “net zero immigration” policy would actually boost the economy.

Tice said “absolutely”, and claimed that “basic economics” shows this would drives up demand for Labour.

But Newman hit back: “On the contrary, the basic economics is that the economy is fuelled by migration and that’s why successive administrations have allowed migration to flourish.”

The far-right party has only one MP right now – Tory defector, Lee Anderson – although Tice is standing in the Boston and Skegness constituency.

Nigel Farage, the party’s honorary president, was rumoured to be considering a return to lead Reform in a move expected to give the party a much-needed boost.

However, Farage claims he was “wrong-footed” by Rishi Sunak’s sudden election news and so has decided not to stand.

He said: “What I could not do in the space of six weeks… was to find a constituency from scratch and go around the country.”

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