UK Prime Minister, Starmer, Scraps Rwanda Deportation Plan

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Saturday that his government would scrap the controversial Conservative policy to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda, as he vowed to fulfill voters’ mandate for change. However, he cautioned that improvements would not happen overnight.

Rejection of the Rwanda Scheme

“The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started,” Starmer declared in his first news conference. “It’s never acted as a deterrent. Almost the opposite.”

He expressed his eagerness for reform but refrained from specifying when improvements in living standards or public services could be expected.

Labour’s landslide victory

Starmer’s Labour Party secured a landslide victory on Friday, delivering the biggest defeat to the Conservatives in their two-century history, campaigning on a platform of change. The 30-minute Q&A session followed his first Cabinet meeting, as his new government faces the task of addressing numerous domestic issues and regaining public trust after years of political turmoil, and economic struggles.

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Immediate focus on governance

“We have a huge amount of work to do, so now we get on with our work,” Starmer said as he welcomed new ministers around the table at 10 Downing Street. He described being asked by King Charles III to form a government as the honour of his life, in a ceremony that officially made him Prime Minister.

Among the pressing issues are powering a sluggish economy, fixing the troubled National Health Service (NHS), and restoring faith in government.

Political analyst Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, noted, “Just because Labour won a big landslide doesn’t mean all the problems that the Conservative government has faced have gone away.”

Starmer’s vision for change

In his remarks as Prime Minister on Friday, following the “kissing of hands” ceremony with King Charles at Buckingham Palace, Starmer pledged to begin work immediately but warned that results would take time. “Changing a country is not like flicking a switch,” he said to enthusiastic supporters outside 10 Downing. “This will take a while. But not doubt that the work of change begins — immediately.”

Starmer plans to visit each of the four nations of the U.K. — England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland — on Sunday, following the six-week campaign. He will then travel to Washington for a NATO meeting on Tuesday and will host the European Political Community summit on July 18, a day after the state opening of Parliament and the King’s Speech outlining the new government’s agenda.

Key issues and challenges

Some of the key issues identified by Starmer include repairing the National Health Service (NHS) and securing the U.K.’s borders, addressing the global challenge of increasing migration due to war, poverty, and climate change. The Conservatives had struggled to curb the flow of migrants crossing the English Channel, failing to meet former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats,” which led to the Rwanda plan.

Starmer’s decision to abandon what he called the Rwanda “gimmick” was expected, given his previous statements against the plan, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars and never materialised.

However, it is not certain how Starmer will address the ongoing crisis, with record numbers of people arriving in the first half of this year.

“Labour is going to need to find a solution to the small boats coming across the channel,” Bale stated. “It’s going to have to come up with other solutions to deal with that particular problem.”

Conservative response

Suella Braverman, a Conservative hardliner on immigration and a potential contender to replace Sunak as party leader, criticized Starmer’s decision to end the Rwanda pact. “Years of hard work, acts of Parliament, millions of pounds spent on a scheme which had it been delivered properly would have worked,” she said Saturday. “There are big problems on the horizon which will be, I’m afraid, caused by Keir Starmer.”

New cabinet in action

Starmer’s Cabinet is already at work. Foreign Secretary David Lammy began his first international trip on Saturday to meet counterparts in Germany, Poland, and Sweden to reinforce bilateral relationships. Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced plans to open new negotiations next week with NHS junior doctors, who have staged multiple strikes, worsening long wait times for appointments at the NHS.

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