DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Labour's plan would increase migration

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Labour’s plan would increase migration 

Yet another big idea from Labour for stemming the tide of illegal migration: Accept more migrants from the EU.

The theory is that we volunteer to take our ‘fair share’ of the hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers crossing into Greece and Italy from Africa and Asia.

In exchange, France and other countries would agree to take back some of those who cross the Channel to England in small boats. As an example of muddled thinking, it’s hard to beat.

To begin with, such an agreement would surely increase migration, not reduce it, because Europe would inevitably send us many more migrants than it took back.

Secondly, the French have shown no interest in a returns accord. Indeed, they have largely stood by as Kent-bound migrants gathered on their beaches, and even guided their vessels to UK waters. Are they really likely to change this mindset?

(File Photo) Labour may loathe the Rwanda plan, but at least it could work. All Sir Keir’s suggestions are either obviously flawed or have been tried before without success

Thirdly, even if the Home Office could see off endless legal challenges and deport a handful of migrants to France, what’s to stop them getting the first boat back?

Labour may loathe the Rwanda plan, but at least it could work. All Sir Keir’s suggestions are either obviously flawed or have been tried before without success.

He says he wants to ‘smash’ trafficking gangs and bring ‘order to the border’. Of course he does. But that is a wish-list, not a policy statement.

Having ridiculed the Government over its own failure to stop the boats, he is desperate to persuade the public that he has a better plan. So far, there is absolutely no evidence that he has.

An immoral payment

When a junior employee at a firm is forced to resign in disgrace, they usually walk away without so much as a penny.

Yet BP boss Bernard Looney, who has stepped down over a series of personal relationships with colleagues, pockets over £10million in pay and bonuses.

This provides yet further proof that there is something distinctly rotten at the heart of Britain’s corporate culture.

Were Mr Looney some sort of financial wizard, personally responsible for BP posting £23billion profits last year, such obscene sums might almost be justifiable.

But the reality is those bumper earnings were largely due to sky-high gas prices caused by the war in Ukraine, rather than any business acumen.

BP boss Bernard Looney has stepped down over a series of personal relationships with colleagues

For hard-pressed taxpayers, seeing Mr Looney and his fellow executives trouser such lavish rewards would have been hard to digest at the best of times. But coming as many households were struggling to pay their energy bills must have made them positively sick to the stomach.

If BP’s board of directors had any sense of moral duty they would demand their shamed chief return at least some of that vast remuneration immediately. Otherwise they risk tarnishing not just their reputation – but also that of capitalism itself.

Pause rate rises

New figures show a small contraction in GDP for July, continuing the UK’s sluggish growth record.

Bad weather is blamed for poor performance by hospitality and construction firms, and a larger fall in health industry productivity is put down to damaging strikes by doctors.

While there is cause for economic optimism in the longer term, rising interest rates have made many people poorer.

Mortgage chaos has also brought the housing market grinding to a virtual halt.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey should therefore pause before raising rates further. Yes, he must get a grip on inflation, but it is already coming down.

So inflicting further pain at this time is unnecessary – and would increase the danger of recession.

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