“Stop the boats”. Three little words. But a big problem.
A problem not just for the UK, and a Prime Minister 20 points behind in the polls. But across Europe.
So today Rishi Sunak was in Vienna. Meeting with his Austrian counterpart, Karl Nehammer, he was hailed as a pioneer.
In a remarkable turn of events 15 European countries now believe the use of safe third countries is essential to counter illegal migration. “The current challenges are unsustainable”, they say.
These countries include Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Malta, at the sharp end of the migration crisis. But also countries like Finland and Denmark.
“Where Britain leads, others will follow” the PM told me. He said too, that he still believes regular flights will deport people to Rwanda from July, right through the summer. Time will tell.
I put to him that almost 10,000 people have crossed the channel illegally this year so far, which is up a whopping 35 per cent increase on this time last year. Hardly a measure of success surely. The opposite in fact.
But Sunak stresses progress. He told GB News exclusively that 10,000 people have been returned this year so far, 2,000 more than this time last year. That includes some 1,700 foreign national offenders (up 400).
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What struck me on this trip (aside from his insane schedule, which saw us spend a total of 12 hours in Vienna - we rushed back so the PM could get to the AI summit this afternoon), is how upbeat Sunak is.
He’s expected to lose the election, many people think no-one will go to Rwanda, and even though the government has taken 4p off National Insurance, the polls haven’t shifted an inch.
Yet talking to him on the plane last night and today, and in Vienna, he seems energetic, driven and positive.
I said it was impossible to stop the boats before the next election.
But he insisted: “I won’t stop until we have stopped the boats”.
Unfortunately for him it may very well be taken out of his hands come the general election. And Sir Keir Starmer has said he’ll ditch the Rwanda plan straight away.
Former ministers Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick believe the government’s Rwanda plan will fail. So do many, many others.
And they could be right. But the PM seems to believe he can pull this off. We will soon see...
