Yellow Fever

Agree with most of that. I think the summary of the first part 'to put out fires' is simply to stop digging ever deeper holes. What we all want is competent rational government.

That's really a sad reflection of populist politics where politians now follow not lead.

Even Sunak as Chancellor didn't believe in it ! Waste of money. Rwanda is right wing click bait. No more no less. Pandering to simplistic views. That's why given they've got it through Parliament we can all watch it work (or not) like Titanic in time for the next GE. I expect they'll be lots of 'excuses' and yet more click-bait from the right - the lefty lawyers diatribe and 'give it time' arguments to explain the small effect. As I said long ago - this policy is not really intended to 'stop the boats' but simply to be diversionary issue the right can argue over. It's the 'journey' not the destination that's important. Perhaps some 'Reform' voters will return to the Tories...

This whole 'deterrence' argument reminds me of the prisons and or gun control in the US. The populist answer is always stiffer penalties, longer prison terms, shoot first. Never address the cause of the issues but simply ever more draconian punishments as a deterrence. The USA has one of the largest prisoners per capita in the world. Seems like its deterrent polices have failed. Gun crime too. https://www.statista.com/statistics/262962/countries-with-the-most-prisoners-per-100-000-inhabitants/#:~:text=Prisoners in the United States,at the end of 2023. Funnily enough Rwanda is actually even worse.....

It not a binary answer is it Fen? Everybody wants the small boats to stop but the Rwanda policy can only be called effective if it actually deters such crossings (a significant drop off (much larger than the few we fly out) solely attributed to this policy). If as seems likely it doesn't - even after we're flying a few hundred or even a few thousand to Rwanda at huge cost - both financially and morally - then it will have failed. It's simply a populist policy at its worst. Not thought through. Lowest common denominator stuff. That's why I'm now quite keen to see this tried. What I would ask is that we define what 'success' is and a review point to 'can it' if necessary if it proves to be of extremely poor value.

Can we have this discussion AFTER (if?) we've beaten Swansea? Having seen Leeds implode I wouldn't be surprised if Hull put four past Ipswich to make things interesting......

Anymore shock results to come ? Hull will be well up for it Saturday. We need to look after our own business first.

Anybody see Sky News last night on the special form Grimsby. I didn't watch it all. Gist was a loss of trust in politicians there in this very Brexity town (I'm of an age when Grimsby to me was part of East Anglia and local ITV region). Apart from all the usual grumbles it seemed evident to me that many had voted Tory / Brexit in 2016/19 misled in the hope of understandable change and of course where then disappointed that nothing indeed had changed (got worse). That's what happens when you allow yourself to blame the wrong things - the problem was not the EU but Westminster. It seems however the loss of trust (from approx 25% in 2019 to 50% now) was most evident in the Tory vote. 14 years of it! https://news.sky.com/video/grimsby-residents-give-their-on-politics-and-how-it-has-impacted-their-town-13122945

I see the the US student protests are spreading letting some compare it with the Vietnam protests of the 60s and 70s. All seems evident to me of the Israelis loosing frankly lost (or squandering) the PR war both globally already and now crucially in the US. They needed the US to veto yet again the recognition of a Palestinian state in the UN last week or so. UK abstained. That position can't last. The pages of history are now turning. The generational wind of change is blowing a gale on this subject. I suspect the final establishment of a Palestinian state and a final uneasy but peaceful solution is now nearer than ever - every cloud has a silver lining etc. Even saw some of the more moderate Hamas leadership talking about going in with the PLO and disarming if such a state existed (see below) Peter Beaumont has this analysis for the Guardian from Jerusalam: Earlier this week senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya suggested the Islamic militant group might be willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel, and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.....

Happy Anzac day 😀

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/leaving-echr-small-boat-crossings-lord-cameron/ It's the Telegraph afterall 😉

Coffee or tea?

They are in France already - encamped along the coast. I'm sure France would be delighted if there was a sensible method to move them on! As to Le Pen - I'm sure she'd just wave them on their way to the UK. Not her problem. More pertinently - I note the EU has just agreed a sharing out scheme for irregular immigrants - largely arriving into its southern states.

Easy - You make other more sensible options to claim asylum or ways to cross available (in France) and claim without the risk of the small boats and people smugglers. Then you can be tough (Rwanda) with any 'queue' jumpers if there are proper alternatives! Most who try to come here have some sort of reason / link which is why as I understand most are actually successful in their claim! The boats are simply a symptom of the underlying issue.