Voters give brutal one word verdict on Conservative Party’s immigration plans

15 November 2023 , 16:56

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The most commonly used words included inhumane and racist (Image: Yougov)

Voters have given their verdict on the Tory Party’s botched immigration plans.

Rishi Sunak’s Government is in crisis after the Supreme Court ruled his scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful. Ahead of the judgment, YouGov asked the public to describe the Conservatives’ policies on immigration in their own words.

The most commonly used words included inhumane and racist. The polling was conducted on behalf of Labour Together. YouGov interviewed 2,059 adults online in Great Britain on November 13 and 14.

The PM is facing calls to abandon his Rwanda plan once and for all after it was torn to shreds in the courts. Mr Sunak has insisted he wants to try to salvage the £140million scheme to deport all small boat arrivals, including refugees seeking sanctuary. But campaigners have called on him to “draw a line under” the “disgraceful chapter” in the country’s history.

YouGov asked voters to describe the Tories' immigration plans in their own words (Yougov)

In a massive blow to the Government, judges at the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the plan was illegal, as they warned refugees risked being put in danger by being sent to Rwanda. It came after more than 18 months of wrangling. Mr Sunak refused to apologise for spending tens of millions of taxpayers' cash on the project as Labour leader Keir Starmer at PMQs warned he had “wasted all his time on a gimmick and now he's absolutely nowhere”.

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Home Secretary James Cleverly said the Government has been working on a new treaty with Rwanda that will be unveiled within days in a bid to address the concerns of the courts.

He added that the Government is prepared to change laws if they continue to block the plan.

Yvette Cooper declared that the PM’s “flagship policy has completely failed”. The Shadow Home Secretary said: “This damning judgment on his Rwanda policy, where he has already spent more than £140 million of taxpayers’ money, exposes Rishi Sunak’s failure to get any grip or have any serious plan to tackle dangerous boat crossings, which are undermining border security and putting lives at risk.

“Labour argued from the start this plan is unworkable and extortionately expensive, now it has been confirmed as unlawful because the government failed to ensure they had a robust and workable policy. Ministers knew about the weaknesses in this scheme from the start and yet they insisted on making it their flagship policy.”

John Stevens