Last night, after the Lords dropped their opposition, all of Scotland’s Tory MP’s stood with their Westminster colleagues and voted in favour of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill. A stark reminder that this UK Government does not value human rights equally and will flout international law when it comes to asylum seekers and refugees.
My colleague, Alison Thewliss, has spoken in the House of Commons numerous times regarding this Bill, and last week described it as “a turd that can’t be polished”, others have described it as state sponsored human trafficking.
The Bill passed last night after rejecting the Lords amendment calling for the Parliament to be able to scrutinise whether Rwanda remains a safe country. There is no knowing whether Rwanda will be safe, or whether the treaty will be in place before the first flights, removing people against their will, are due to take off in the next 10-12 weeks. Let us remember that while the government negotiate this treaty Rwanda have been carrying out refoulement. That doesn’t sound like a safe country to me.
This Bill should not be the actions of any responsible government. With the Prime Minister stating that “nothing will stand in our way” of Rwanda flights, he has made it evident that he, and his party, lack common decency, humanity and morality.
Westminster does not share the values of the people of Scotland. It is clear to me that the only way forward for Scotland is through our independence. Only with the full levers of an independent Scotland could the Scottish Government implement their own asylum system, which would treat people far more humanely than the UK government continue to do.
