I’m sorry, but I’m not going to stop talking about the behaviour of Kevin Foster until we start getting some answers.
Since the introduction of this new, disgraceful Rwanda policy, we’ve not heard any substantial justification from Kevin Foster.
The facts are that Rwanda has:
1. Highly questionable political freedom.
2. A poor human rights record
.3. Shot refugees protesting against food cuts.
4. A lack of interpreters.
5. A lack of legal advice.
6. A lack of capacity or case workers to process and support refugees.
7. A poor LGBT record.
8. Sent Syrian and Afghan asylum seekers back into danger.
Priti Patel spent £500,000 chartering a plane to send vulnerable refugees to a country that’s wholly unsuitable, and has written a cheque for £120m to the Rwandan government with a promise of more.
All of this whilst the country is going through a cost of living crisis, when that money could have been spent on more important projects.
This policy is a shameful and very unBritish. It is blatant posturing, and it’s an attempt to turbocharge the culture war the Johnson government are ratcheting up to stop opposition parties from benefiting from support whilst Johnson and the Conservatives lurch from scandal to scandal.
The facts remain the same, though. Refugees are not the cause of all your problems; the government is.
They are the ones putting up taxes, increasing the burden on working people, and ignoring the huge profits being made by big business and the richest in society.
Kevin Foster is not just an MP anymore, he’s a minister. He’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safe and Legal Migration (seemingly available only to Ukrainians and not many of them, either. Ed)! He’s responsible for the work going into this inhumane and disastrous policy and he needs to start answering the questions we all have.
So, Kevin:
1. Will this policy cost Britain more than simply providing refugees with the help and assistance they need to get on in society?
2. Will we receive more or fewer refugees in return from Rwanda?
3. How much has been promised to Rwanda, and how much has been spent on this policy so far?
4. How are the residents of Torbay better off as a result of this policy?
5. Is it your belief that this country is better off without asylum seekers and refugees in it?
It is worth noting, for those who haven’t been paying attention, that Kevin Foster has a murky voting record when it comes to refugees and immigration.
On 1 Dec 2015: Kevin Foster voted to restrict the support available to failed asylum seekers and illegal migrants.
On 25 Apr 2016: Kevin Foster voted against giving asylum seekers permission to work if a decision on their application takes over six months.
On 8 Jan 2020: Kevin Foster voted to remove a requirement for ministers to seek to negotiate an agreement with the EU to enable unaccompanied child refugees to join their relatives.
On 30 Jun 2020: Kevin Foster voted to remove rights for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, spouses, vulnerable adults and dependant adults to join a family member who is legally present in the United Kingdom.
Isn’t the truth that Kevin will just vote for whichever policy the government of the day is proposing, just so he can get his foot a little further into the door of Government? Kevin Foster is just a nodding donkey, and does as he’s told.
Torbay deserves better, and so does the UK.
Surely questions should be asked about this, and his involvement in it, and why, despite claiming to stand up for the people in his own constituency, he consistently backs policies that do the opposite.
