There are practicalities and challenges, but ultimately, we have to find a way of keeping our borders secure, our people safe, to act justly, and ensure that our communities are cohesive and not divided.
I reach back to our days under the Dublin III Regulations, which shielded the UK from the new challenges we see in the immigration system today. When those who ripped us out of the EU now tell us that immigration is an issue, it is only by their insistence to leave such secure frameworks that it has become so.
Ironically, now they turn on the very consequences of their actions to lead us deeper into disarray. I am listening to the rhetoric of ReformUK, I have heard it before, it is all about the individual and not the collective.
Like a bucket of ice, we need to wake up to the legacy of Brexit, and rather than blame the consequences of leaving, seek our redemption in establishing a new relationship, for we will never secure our borders without agreement over the continent first, it is a lie to believe otherwise. And the financial cost, proven by the failed Rwanda agreement which cost an eyewatering £715m, shamefully wasting public money whilst achieving nothing.
As the EU introduces its EU Asylum and Migration Management Regulations next summer, we need to adopt synergy, not drive divisive asylum plans.
If development aid is cut, we can expect the consequences of war, famine and climate devastation to cause more people to flee their circumstances. Many countries are so violent and brutal towards its people, that it is unsafe to stay. Would we not have to do the same if we were in their shoes? So how we address this, world over, is crucial for everyone. I urge investment to hold people safely within their region by returning to international funding.
I am pleased that Labour are clearing the backlogs of asylum applications, after the Tories left people in hotels for months with no action. And I am pleased that Labour is working closely with the French on tackling the illicit people trafficking gangs.
It is also right that people apply to the UK though the right routes. And for those who break the rules, as for all of us, to know the consequences, of which deportation must remain an option.
However, extending the uncertainty to settlement of up to 20 years, will just cause greater unrest. I urge Government to drop this proposal and maintain the current schedule. Family reunion is vital for restoring stability. I think of the children who have come to York under the UNHCR Scheme. Despite their parents wanting to support them, they are placed in the care sector. This cannot be right. The right to a family life must be sacrosanct. So no watering down of these rights will be acceptable.
In York, we have proved that we can do integration well. I shared the pride of Fishergate School as being our first School of Sanctuary, we have two Universities of Sanctuary, and are a City of Sanctuary. It is the exercise of our human rights and responsibilities that has struck the balances to build a strong community; welcoming and committed, supportive and integrated. There is more to do.
And I recognise the challenge of people feeling the consequences of inequity which has taken root through years of neglect. It is this that must be addressed, and why this week’s budget must centre on addressing the economic injustices which have exploited and extracted, and above all divided and destroyed the hope we long to be restored to people and communities in York and across our country.