Labour is vague on how it could ever disrupt people smuggling gangs
Keir they come
AFTER another daily record number of illegal migrant crossings we’ve one question:
How many of the 882 people who took to the small boats on Tuesday were encouraged by the idea that any plans to deport them to Rwanda will be ripped up next month by a Labour Government?
In the longer term Sir Keir Starmer hopes his new Border Security Command plan will take down the people smuggling gangs.
Leaving aside Tory claims that this amounts only to a rebranding of existing failing forces, Labour is vague on how it could ever disrupt this criminal market and slow growing demand.
And where are we going to house those who arrive in the meantime — currently standing at more than 12,000 so far this year?
Taxpayers already fork out £8million a day to put them up.
Rwanda — which Labour would scrap on day one of taking power — might just have been that deterrent.
But with no alternative plan in place, an effective amnesty for anyone arriving by small boat could now be in place for the rest of this year — at the very least.
And the vile trade in human misery will continue.
Rishi’s reward
THOSE who say PM Rishi Sunak can’t take the credit for a fall in inflation are ignoring one key factor — his determination to fight off crazy union pay demands.
The easy thing to do would have been to cave to the BMA and the Royal College of Nursing and hand them the double-digit rises they wanted.
Especially as it could have helped him meet his other pledge to cut NHS waiting times.
But he toughed it out — at great personal cost — and is now finally seeing some reward.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England appears not to want to cut interest rates during a General Election campaign.
But if rates of 5.25 per cent were high enough to fight inflation at its 11 per cent peak, they are surely way above what is needed now it is at just two per cent?
Delaying a cut until August or September might be too late.
Our economic growth risks being choked off by yet more unnecessary dithering by the Bank.
Rocks ’n’ goals
ANCIENT forces at Stonehenge have spoken — and the songlines sing for England.
Like modern-day druids, Gareth Southgate’s men can harness the power of the summer solstice to triumph over the Danes tonight.
It’s written in the stars.