Tom Hunt sparked an angry reaction for disparaging comments on opponents of the Rwanda deportation scheme, while attempting to defend the policy.
On June 14, the Conservative MP for Ipswich took to Twitter to inform his 14k followers what he thought of those opposing the widely condemned scheme to send people seeking asylum in the UK to Rwanda. Hunt also claimed “uncontrolled illegal immigration” lay behind school placement and GP appointment shortages and a lack of affordable homes.
In a succession of four tweets, the MP wrote:
“1/1 Telling that many of the most vocal critics of the Rwanda policy are members of elite society who have never had to live with the consequences of uncontrolled illegal immigration. The issue that the Rwanda policy is designed to tackle.
“2/2 When have they ever had to wait at length for a GP appointment? To get a place for their kid at the school of their choice? For a council house? Never. Their hysterical reaction to the Rwanda policy goes to show how out of touch they are.
“3/3 we should welcome the brightest and the best who want to come here legally. We should welcome genuine refugees who come here in the proper way from war zones and are at risk of persecution. To be able to do this it’s vital we bear down on illegal immigration.
“4/4 it should never be okay to rock up on our beaches illegally having come from another safe European country and then be able to stay here. Turning a blind eye to this is welcoming open borders. An outcome that would be completely unsustainable for our country.”
The tweets were ripped apart by many users.
‘Unevidenced gibberish’
Philip Proudfoot, researcher of development, humanitarianism and Lebanon/Syria/Yemen, responded: “It’s not illegal to seek asylum, It’s a right enshrined into international law.
“Retract this deliberate disinformation.”
James O’Brien, referred to the thread as “unevidenced gibberish.”
Another noted the incredulity of the MP’s claims about who the scheme’s biggest critics are, tweeting: “Tell that many of the most vocal supporters of the Rwanda policy are actual elites, rather than the imaginary ones who recognise the inhumanity of offshoring our responsibility to genuine refugees.”
Others pointed to the irony of the MP’s remarks that “members of elite society” oppose the policy, when he himself attended a £35,000 a year private school and Oxford University.
Appearing on BBC’s Politics Live show, Hunt blamed ‘uncontrolled immigration’ for public service shortages, saying:
“It’s quite clear that some of the most vocal critics of this – who’ve been the most hysterical over this policy – have been individuals who have never had to live with the consequences of uncontrolled immigration and the impact that has on public services.
“They’ve never had to wait for a GP appointment. They’ve never had to battle to get a school place for a child. They’ve never had to face a battle to get a council house, so I do find it a bit rich to be hearing lectures from them,” the MP continued.
During the televised debate, Hunt insisted that multiple polls show most of the public support the policy.
Such claims are open to debate and are likely to be dependent on which newspaper you are reading, with the right-wing media having launched its own smear campaign against Rwanda policy opponents.
While the Daily Mail was quick to cite its own survey which found, in April 2022, voters backed the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda by two to one, others, like a YouGov survey, conducted within hours of the PM’s confirmation of the £120m scheme, and cited in the Independent, found that 42% of voters oppose it against just 35% who were in support.
In response to Hunt’s tweet, one user spoke of their own experiences of waiting at length for GP appointments, and not having access to council housing.
“I don’t blame refugees, I blame governments who have underfunded the NHS, sold and not rebuilt council housing. This tired divisive nonsense isn’t going to work,” they wrote.
Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward
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