The bromance between Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron is so obvious – embraces throughout.
That is some deft diplomacy from Sir Keir, who has been love-bombing his French counterpart ever since he turned prime minister – attempting to get nearer ties, be it on safety, on commerce, and now in fact on small boats.
And he has acquired a win in the present day – he’s acquired President Macron to agree a deterrent deal.
Politics newest: Macron stokes undiplomatic Brexit row
You keep in mind the Conservatives had been attempting the Rwanda plan to discourage folks from coming by sending them again to Rwanda, a 3rd nation, in the event that they got here right here illegally.
What the prime minister has agreed with President Macron in the present day is a giant deal. It’s a one in, one out deal.
What they’re going to do is, if somebody arrives right here illegally, they are going to be despatched again to France, and in return, the UK will settle for a reliable asylum seeker. It could be somebody who has household ties.
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2:04How folks smugglers dodge French police
It’s going to begin off actually small – consider it as a pilot – as they’re going to check it out, see if it really works.
It could be only a handful of individuals being despatched again, perhaps just below a thousand or so by the tip of the 12 months. However they’ll hopefully, for the prime minister, scale it up and it might develop into an actual deterrent.
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0:46Farage reacts to UK-France migrant deal
I’ll depart you with only one extra thought: As Prime Minister Starmer and President Macron had been doing this deal in the present day, Nigel Farage was within the English Channel documenting unlawful migrants making that crossing – 79 folks being picked up by Border Pressure, taken off a dinghy and into Dover.
Polling out this morning by Portland suggests 4 in 10 voters who’re planning on going to Reform would return to Labour if the prime minister tackles small boats and drives down the crossings.
There’s a actual political crucial for him to attempt to begin to resolve this drawback. It’s going to depend on the poll field – immigration is a top-three subject on this nation relating to voters.
