New UK leader Keir Starmer says Rwanda migration scheme is ‘dead’

In an attempt to fulfill the electorate’s demand for change, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Saturday that he is abandoning his predecessor’s divisive policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda. However, he cautioned that this will not happen overnight.

“The Rwanda plan was doomed to failure before it even began,” Starmer declared at his first press conference following the Labour Party’s 14-year victory against the Conservatives. It has never served as a disincentive. Nearly the reverse

In a wood-paneled chamber at 10 Downing St., Starmer told reporters that he was “restless for change,” but he did not say when he thought that British citizens would see changes in public services or living conditions.

In his first speech as prime minister on Friday, Starmer focused on a few key issues, including securing the U.K.’s borders and repairing the venerable but beleaguered National Health Service. This was a reference to a larger global issue of absorbing an influx of migrants fleeing poverty, war, and climate-related disasters like drought, heat waves, and floods.

Conservatives found it difficult to halt the influx of migrants coming across the English Channel, falling short of the promise made by former prime minister Rishi Sunak to “stop the boats.”

The contentious Rwanda plan was promoted as a way to prevent migrants from jeopardizing their lives on a voyage that would result in their deportation to East Africa. It has never taken off and has already cost the government hundreds of millions of dollars.

Extra references: AP