“I think the problem is they just shout. They don’t actually ever have serious or practical plans to tackle these serious problems.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has slammed Reform UK over their immigration and asylum policy, saying that all the right-wing populist party does is ‘shout at the sea’ without a proper plan.
Nigel Farage and his party have sought to make immigration their number one issue, as they seek to exploit the issue for political gain. They have also tried to capitalise on the public’s concern over small boat crossings, saying they would stop the boats, but without actually explaining how.
It comes as the government publishes its treaty with France aimed at tackling small boat crossings.
Under the scheme, anyone entering the U.K. on a small boat can be detained immediately and returned to France. For however many are deported, an equal number will be able to come to the U.K. from France through a new asylum route, as long as they’ve never tried to cross the Channel via boat (or using another illegal method).
Cooper has called the agreement ‘groundbreaking’ while accusing Reform and the Tories for just “shouting at sea”.
She told the BBC: “I think the problem with Reform and the problem with the Conservatives is that they are currently voting against our border security bill, which brings in the counter-terror powers to go after the gangs.
“It brings in a ban on sex offenders from the asylum system, something that I announced six months ago, it brings in the stronger enforcement law against endangering life at sea, meaning we can do more prosecutions, brings in new powers for us to seize and inspect mobile phones from those people arriving on small boats and yet they’re voting against it, they’re blocking it.
“They [Reform and the Tories] also wanted to rip up co-operation with France and with other countries, the things that make it possible for us to start returning people to France.
“I think the problem is they just shout. They don’t actually ever have serious or practical plans to tackle these serious problems.
“All they do is shout at the sea.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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