Court ruling a triumph of law over dangerous politics. [Newspaper article]

Arnell, Paul

Abstract

One of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's key pledges in January 2023 was to "stop the boats". Central to the plan is the UK-Rwanda Memorandum of Understanding, agreed in April 2022. Under this deal, Rwanda promised to accept and consider for asylum people removed from the UK under its law and in line with its international legal obligations. The UK, for its part, agreed to pay an initial sum of £120 million to Rwanda. The Rwandan plan has become a focal point of a conflict between law and politics. On the one hand, there is the political desire to display a position of strength and effectiveness and highlight that the UK is a sovereign state that can control its borders and, through that, keep out people seeking asylum. While the plan arose from the legitimate policy concern of managing immigration in an orderly and beneficial manner, it has become politicised by the current government.

Citation

ARNELL, P. 2023. Court ruling a triumph of law over dangerous politics. [Newspaper article]. The Scotsman [online], 16 November 2023. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/v98n4fa2

• Online Publication Date: Nov 16, 2023
• Publication Date: Nov 16, 2023
• Deposit Date: Nov 30, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 19, 2024
• Publisher: Scotsman
• Keywords: Supreme court; Rishi Sunak; Rwanda; Government
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2158707
• Additional Information: The printed version of this newspaper title appears as 'Court ruling a triumph of law over dangerous politics.' while the online version uses the title 'Supreme Court's Rwanda ruling was a triumph of the law over dangerous politics'.