257 local councillors from across the UK, and representing the spread of opposition parties, have signed a joint statement pledging to do “all [they] can” to resist removals of residents to Rwanda under the Government’s plan to offshore the UK’s asylum system.

The Government’s Rwanda Bill saw the final stages of its passage through both Houses of Parliament on Monday night. The legislation is a response to the Supreme Court judgement of November 2023 that Rwanda is unsafe, and that flights taking asylum-seekers to the country could not take off.

By passing this new piece of legislation, the Government now hopes to override the Supreme Court and begin flights as soon as possible.

Responding to the passage of the Bill, the group of local councillors said: “The poisonous rhetoric coming from Westminster is not reflected on the ground – our communities want to welcome their new neighbours, and build good lives together. This scheme, and any other future scheme that would send people seeking sanctuary away from the UK indefinitely, undermines that.

“The threat of being sent to Rwanda, far from the support networks [people seeking asylum] have built up, is now all too real. As local councillors, we pledge to do all we can to resist these plans, and to support people at risk – whether that’s through helping residents at risk to access legal advice, connecting with community groups to safeguard people at risk of removal, or otherwise.”

Mary Atkinson, coordinator of the cross-party Migrant Champions Network, said:

“This statement shows the strength of feeling among local councillors, who are chosen by their communities with a mandate to support residents to thrive alongside each other. With the Government forging ahead with its cruel and divisive Rwanda plan, people seeking sanctuary are now at grave risk of being ripped from the support networks they have built in their new communities. This statement, signed by councillors from all over the UK and from across the political spectrum, shows that in the face of this brutality, people at risk have the backing of their local representatives.”

The full statement can be viewed here, and the list of signatories is here.

Image: https://openclipart.org/detail/256387/rwanda-flag-map. Licence: CC0 1.0 DEED CC0 1.0 Universal