He also welcomed new figures on employment: ‘what these figures show is that our plan is working’
PENSIONS Secretary Mel Stride has denied that there is chaos in the Conservative Party over the Rwanda Bill, insisting that MPs are united in their desire to stop small boats crossing the Channel.
He told GB News: “Although people have quite rightly, very strong views about the Rwanda Bill, and the reason for that in fact is that we are all united in a very clear sense that we need to get this bill through to in order to create a deterrent such that we stop this terrible trafficking of people across the Channel.
“And let's not forget that over the weekend we had yet another tragic loss of life in those dark cold waters of the channel. We need to stop that. We also need to build on the progress that we're making.
“We've seen a reduction of 36% in the level of crossings across the Channel. That compares to very strongly rising figures actually across Europe, including an 80% increase in the case of Italy.”
In a discussion during Breakfast with Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster, he continued: “And the reason we've made that progress, of course, is we have a very clear plan, which the Rwanda bill is part of, to get these numbers down and that's why it's working. And we have an opportunity to go a lot further.
“And you compare that to Labour who've got really nothing to say on this at all, and the reason Keir Starmer has got nothing to say other than to oppose is that they have no plan.
“What we need to do and what we need to make sure is we don't end up going back to square one, open borders, all of these problems, that we stick to the plan that we brought forward.”
On the Rwanda Bill, he said: “The reality is these are amendments. There are few bills that go through Parliament without at least proposed amendments being brought forward, as has happened here.
“What happens, what really matters, actually, is that the bill is robust and fit for purpose, as I'm sure it will be when it’s gone through his parliamentary stages and it goes through third reading and on to the statute book.”
On new ONS figures on employment, he said: “What these figures show is that our plan is working. What these figures show is that inflation now is under half of what it was a year ago beating the target set by the Prime Minister that's taking some pressure off people in terms of cost of living.
“We're seeing near record levels of employment near record low levels of unemployment. We're seeing real wages increasing, of course for the fifth month in a row now, and all this progress is because we've got a very clear plan for turning the economy around, giving us a brighter future.”
