6 NEWS Politics
THEWEEK 17 July 2021Controversy of the weekPatel’s asylum planIn 2012,GulwaliPassarlay,ateena ge Afghanrefugee,
proudly carriedthe Olympictorch on itsway to the London
Games,said KenanMalik in The Observer.Only six years
earlier,he was adesperate12-year-oldcaughtin thecrossfire
between TalibanandUSforces inAfghanistan. His mother
paid asmugglerto takehim on a“gruel ling 12,000-mile trek”
which endedupwithhim entering Britainin arefrigerated
lorry .Yet ha dHome SecretaryPriti Patel’s new Nationality
andBordersBill beenlawin2006, Passarlaywouldhave
committedacriminaloffence just by coming here.Thiscruel
bill proposesatwo-tier systemfor refugees: thosewith
“papers orpermissiontoenter ”willbeallowed to claim
asylum; thosearriving asPassarlaydidcouldbejailed and
then deported.Butrepressive regimesdon’t tendto offertheir
people well-managed pathsoutoft he country,andBritain has
closed down almost all “safe andlegal routes”toenter the UK.Ministers claim theyaredrive nto
actio nby“an upsurge” ofasylum seekers. In fact, current UK numbers are relativelylow:in2 019–
the last fullyear before thepandemic–they stoodat36,000, less than half thoseof 20 years ago.Ithink Patel should be applaudedforher “c ourage”,said Alp Mehmet ofMigrationWatch UK in
the DailyMail. The bill’sprime targetsare notthe peopledesperately trying to escape fromoppres-
sion,they are the “asylumshoppers”–migrants whoarrive in Britainillegally“via asafecountry”
–and th epeopl esmugglerswhoexplo it them.Makenomistake, though:every attempt will be made
to “neutralise”Patel’s efforts.The Governmenthaspromisedrepeatedly that anyone enteringtheUK
illegallywouldbe“sent back”. Yetout of 6,600 people who didthatbycrossing the Channelon
smallboats so farthis year, not one hasbeendeported.All of Pa tel’s plans,suchas“off-shore
processing centres” forasylumseekers,will get boggeddown in legaland political challenges. They
deserveto,said AnooshChakelianinthe NewStatesman. The newbill criminalises anyone who
“knowinglyfacilitates” thearrival ofan asylu mseekerin theUK. Thatcoul dinclude rescue serv ices
helping migrantsindistress,even thoughit’s whatinternational maritime law obliges themtodo.This punitiv ebill “breaches the letterandspirit” of refugee agreementswhichthe UK signed up to,
said David Aaronovitch in TheTimes.Perhapsmore importantly,itsaimsare “clea rlyunachiev-
able”. Much as Patel may wanttos endasylumseekers back to France, she can’t,becauseFrance
won’t have them.“People smugglingish orribly like thedrugstrade.”It will always go onas long as
people wish to escapemiseryand ther eisnolegal alternative. We wouldbe best off increasing the
size of our legalresettlement programmetoundercutthe cr iminal networks. But that won’thappen,
and the“war on people smugglers” willgoonendlessly–justlike “the war on drugs”.Facingatwo-tier system?Spirit of the ageGood weekfor:
Rewilding,after ababy beaverwas bornon Exmoorforthe first
time in 400 years,totwo adultssucce ssful ly reintroduced to the
Holnicote Estatebythe National Trust in 2020.
DiscardedLego pieces,with the releaseofanapp called
Brickit. It allows usersto scan ajumble ofpieces with their
smartphone cameraand discoverwhatcan be built,using a
database of more than1,500 models.
Daytrippers,with the news that BuckinghamPalace’s gardens
are nowopentothe public. Ticketholderswill be abletor oam
aroundmuch of the Palace’s 39-acre grounds,andexamine the
Queen’s156-metre herbaceous borders.Bad week for:
SouthernWater,whichhas beenfined arecord £90mfor
deliberately dumpingbillionsof litresof rawsewage into
protected seas over severalyears, for its ownfina ncia lgain. Over
nearlysix years, the watercompany pouredatotalofb etween
16bn and21bn litre sofuntreated sewage intothe seas offnorth
KentandHampshire, so asto avoid financialpenaltiesand the
cost of upgrading and maintaining infrastructure.
Dundee,whichhasbeen namedas the Covid-19 capitalof
Europe. Overthe past fortnight,over 1%of Dundee’s 150,
residentshave testedpositive,the continent’s highestrate.
TheNag’sHead,apub inSutton-in-Ashfield, which washit by a
cra sh-landing hot-air balloon on Sunday morning. It escaped with
afew broken tiles;one passengersufferedanoseb leed. Thepilot
AndrewDavids on said that thelandi ng was“very, very unusual”.Foreignaidvote
Boris Johnson this week saw
off aTory rebellion over his
plan to cut UK spending on
foreign aid. MPs voted by
amajority of 35 to keep
the overseas development
budget at 0.5% of national
income, and not to reinstate
the 0.7% figure that was in
place until this year.
Ministers insist that the cut
–which will reduce aid by
around £4.4bn–isa
temporary move to alleviate
pandemic pressures. But
critics accused the PM of
abandoningamanifesto
promise at the expense of
the world’s poor. In total, 24
Conservatives voted against
the Government, including
the former PM Theresa May
and Jeremy Hunt.Whitehallreform
An independent review into
the Civil Service has called
on the Government to scrap
the rule that ministers must
sit in either the Commons or
the Lords so that it can bring
in “greater talent” from the
private sector. The proposal
from The Commission for
Smart Government won the
backing of the Cabinet Office
Minister, Michael Gove.
The Commission has also
recommended creating
anew special “prime
minister’s department” to
deliver the PM’s priorities;
and replacing departmental
permanent secretaries with
new chief executives.Pollwatch
Afifth of adults under35say
they have only one or no
close friends; this proportion
has tripled inadecade.
Those aged between 18 and
24 were three times more
likely(48%)to distrust their
neighbours, than those aged
65 and over(15%).
Onward/Stack Data StrategyEight out of ten British
employees would not favour
acceptingareduction in
working hours to four days
per week if it resulted in
lower wages. Only one in
ten employees would be
willing to work less and earn
less. White-collar workers
and people in top-paying
jobs were the most willing
to cut working hours; those
in hospitality and care were
the least willing, with one
in seven wanting to work
for longer.
Social Market Foundation/
Office for National StatisticsThe Entomological Society
of America (ESA) has
cancelled the gypsy moth.
The ESA is reviewing
“inappropriate or offensive”
insect names and has
decided to “remove” the
pest’s common name,
because it usesaderogatory
term for the Romani people.
It will now be known only as
Lymantria dispar.The
Orie ntal rat flea, the Asian
needle ant and the West
Indian cane weevil are also
being re-considered. “We
don’t want to associate
invasive pests with partic-
ular regions of the world or
particular ethnic and cultural
groups,” said the ESA.Amintcondition copy of the
video gameSuper Mario 64,
dating from 1996, has sold
at auction for more than
$1.5m (£1.1m), making it the
most expensive video game
ever sold.