Labour and Conservatives are just plain cruel over immigration

"Much of what is written about immigration is increasingly not about facts. A poisonous and divisive agenda, led by Ukip, is now setting UK policy. The Conservatives, and increasingly the Labour Party, are playing along and doing little to challenge this.”

I WROTE these words in 2014 in a piece for the Sunday Herald; yet, sadly, it remains as true now as it was then. The only thing that has changed is the names of most of the players and that Ukip shed its skin to become the Brexit Party then again to the Reform Party.

The Rwanda policy is a hideous sideshow. There are ways to stop the boats crossing the English Channel into England, and the Rwanda policy isn’t it. It is a hydra that seems to continually morph and grow new arms, legs and heads the more it becomes clear it is utterly unworkable.

By the time you read these words, we will know the result of last night’s vote – where it will have been either slain or fatally wounded. It will not survive in the long run because it is a walking contradiction which supposedly defends Britain but also clearly breaches international law.

In Scotland, our historic problem has been exporting our people not having too many. From the Clearances where whole swathes of the Highlands and Islands were emptied right through to the 20th century as Scots sought a better future in the likes of Detroit, Patagonia or even – as in the case of my family – the Middle East.

READ MORE: Joanna Cherry: Court of Session could see Rwanda plan legal challenge

Or indeed England or the rest of Europe. The population of Scotland in 1910 was around 4.74 million, not a million miles away from the number recorded in 2022 at 5,436,600 people. As noted in the Scottish Government’s Building a New Scotland series, it was EU membership which reversed this trend, not the UK Government.

And what a positive story immigration has been for Scotland.

In every sector and walk of life, those who have come to our country have helped enhance it. From cuisine to the arts, from business to politics, we have seen the fruits of immigration. If you’re here you’re one of us, part of our community and with an equal stake in its future.

I remain deeply proud that our Scottish Parliament legislated to make voting entitlement for Holyrood and local elections based on residence rather than nationality.

If you’re here you’re one of us.

Yet all we see from the Conservatives (and increasingly the Labour Party as well) is that they blame too many people for the UK’s woes instead of the political decisions both parties have taken in the past. The need for a young, dynamic workforce has never been greater, in part due to Brexit.

There are serious shortages within the workforce with most businesses (63.5%) reporting that worker shortages led to employees working increased hours or the business was unable to meet demands (41.6%) according to Scottish Government figures.

The three worst-affected business sectors are accommodation and food services, construction and admin and support services.

Instead of addressing the issue though, the Tories are hell-bent on making it impossible to come to these islands. The huge increase in the income requirements to bring an overseas partner to the UK, to £38,700 is obscene. There should be no threshold at all, but this move puts it above the UK average wage!

READ MORE: SNP MP perfectly sums up Tory immigration failures in Rwanda debate

It discriminates against women (due to the gender pay gap), students and those who want to set up a small business. This salary must be earned by the UK citizen, resulting in situations in which somebody with a highly paid job cannot come to Scotland because their partner does not earn above the average wage.

This policy will split up families and cause severe hardship to thousands of UK citizens. And the boats will keep coming with individuals being extorted by criminal gangs as the Government turns their back on them. Shame on them.

Cruelty risks begetting more cruelty. If the UK was serious about tackling illegal migration it would enhance international arrangements with France and Belgium over the Channel crossings. If it were serious about tackling the people smugglers, it would provide more legal, safe asylum routes.

If it were serious about deterring migration, it would not cut the international aid budget thereby increasing the incentive for desperate individuals to flee their home countries in the desperate search for a better life for themselves and their families.

If you have crossed deserts, multiple oceans, been extorted and violated by criminal gangs, risked life and limb to cross some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, the threat of being one of a handful of people being deported to Rwanda will not deter you.

The UK parties have tied themselves in knots over immigration because they view it fundamentally wrongly, having accepted Ukip’s premise.

It is not a problem to be managed, it is something we know in Scotland we badly need more of.

Only with independence can we have an immigration system which is rational, compassionate and tailored to our needs as a country, complies with international law and helps those who have nowhere else to turn. The Scottish Government’s papers on Building a New Scotland set out how we would do this and I would urge you to read them if you have not done so.

In the meantime, we will continue to speak up for those who have no voice and condemn the UK’s cruelty towards some of the world’s most vulnerable people.