LABOUR are attempting a huge con on the public.
In trying to sound like they have a policy to tackle illegal migration, they are admitting what this Conservative Government has long known.
This issue matters to the British people. They are generous and caring.
They welcome people who play by the rules but are unhappy with those who try to play the system and risk their lives doing so.
Labour’s vague proposals on small boats are like fog on the Channel.
They constantly demand we stop our partnership with Rwanda, voting against our illegal migration laws more than 70 times, and insist we tackle the illegal smuggling gangs instead.
We’ve harried the smugglers, their financial flows and their ability to operate.
We’ve successfully persuaded thousands who want to risk their lives at the hands of people who don’t care if they live or die, just as long as they pay, to not even set out for France.
We’ve worked with partners across Europe to impound inflatable boats long before they even reach France.
We’ve returned 5,000 Albanians on weekly charter flights.
That relentless activity is the reason small boat arrivals here are down by 36 per cent, and by continuing that activity we will stop the boats.
Labour like to pretend this attack on ruthless criminals is their idea alone.
In reality, they know this Government has already funded the National Crime Agency to tackle organised immigration and been doing more than they are promising for well over a year.
We’ll spend this year focused on ending this evil criminal enterprise.
Rwanda will be an effective deterrent.
Our partnership to give asylum seekers citizenship in a vibrant country offering them a home has a simple effect.
However many we choose to send in this uncapped scheme to Rwanda, the important number is how many choose NOT to cross the Channel because they know they won’t stay in the UK.
The costs of our Rwanda partnership Labour like to highlight are dwarfed by the costs of housing asylum seekers here.
By opposing our Rwanda scheme, Labour is embracing the astronomical cost of doing nothing.
But it’s not just that they don’t really have a credible plan to stop the boats that is so bad.
We learn Sir Keir Starmer once said immigration laws were racist.
He may since have flip-flopped, he has a habit of doing that, but many of his MPs still hold similar views.
While his frontbench desperately tries to sound tough, many in his party can’t hide their view that controlling migration is somehow uncaring, wrong and unfair.
As Home Secretary, I’m interested in tackling what’s unfair to the British people.
Labour should stop their idle boasts and admit their promises are weak.
Only the Conservatives can and will stop the boats.
