2 NOVEMBER 2022 | NEWS
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today traded blows with Sir Keir Starmer for his second PMQs as Prime Minister. It entailed a U-turn over COP27 and tension over Britain’s migrant crisis.
Soon after the formation of Sunak’s Government, it was announced that he would not be attending this year’s COP summit, provoking a backlash from Opposition parties and climate activists.
With the Prime Minister’s immediate focus on the economy, Downing Street said Number 10 said Mr Sunak had “other pressing domestic commitments, including preparations for the Autumn Budget”.
Last week, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer condemned the decision, tweeting: “Britain showing up to work with world leaders is an opportunity to grasp. Not an event to shun.”
However, Mr Sunak has since reversed this decision and will instead attend this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP).
At Prime Minister’s Questions today, the PM said there was “no long-term prosperity without action on climate change.
“That’s why I will attend COP27 next week – to deliver on Glasgow’s legacy of building a secure, clean and sustainable future.”
Starmer’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said the Prime Minister had been “dragged kicking and screaming into doing the right thing”, and Green Party leader Caroline Lucas accused Mr Sunak of a “screeching U-turn” after “an embarrassing mis-step on the world stage”.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also said he will attend the summit.
The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition also clashed over the UK’s asylum system, as it has been revealed that one to two percent of the Albanian male population, around 10,000, have crossed the Channel this year, Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee has been told.
Starmer attacked the Government for not having any plan to tackle illegal immigration and border controls, while Sunak replied that the Opposition did not have any alternatives itself, adding: “You can’t attack a plan if you don’t have a plan.”
It comes amid growing criticism directed at Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who had resigned from the position under former Prime Minister Liz Truss for breaking the Ministerial Code by sharing government information from a personal e-mail account. However, she was then re-appointed to the same position under Mr Sunak within a week.
Ms Braverman’s views on illegal immigration are well-known, and are also rumoured to be behind the reason she left the Home Office, following a row with Ms Truss on how to solve Britain’s migrant crisis.
The Home Secretary had previously said it was her “dream” to see illegal immigrants being flown on a plane to Rwanda on the front page of The Telegraph newspaper.
At PMQs, Sir Keir told MPs the Prime Minister did not have any plan to fix the “broken” asylum system – a term that Ms Braverman has used herself.
The Labour leader said Mr Sunak “hasn’t got a grip”, due to issues with the controversial deal brokered by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Government to send Channel-crossing migrants to Rwanda.
However, the Prime Minister defended the Home Secretary, arguing that she is indeed taking steps to tackle the problem.
This year alone, more than 38,000 people have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in over 900 boats, compared to 28,526 in 2021.
“Around 93% of those arrivals have claimed asylum – but there is a 100,000 backlog in processing claims, with 96% of applications from 2021 still outstanding,” Sky News reported last Wednesday.
On Sunday, reports emerged of a petrol bombing of an asylum centre in Dover, Kent, after which the suspect killed himself.
Counter-terrorism police have suggested the motive behind the attack was a “hate-filled grievance”.
Pity Rishi has allowed himself to u-turn just when he was beginning to acquire a possibility of hope and trust. The demise of the Tory Party looks now assured. The electorate hugely prefer their politicians to be engaged in the promises made and not submitting to outside forces with a different agenda.