Opinion: Gross mistreatment of asylum seekers seems to be part of Sunak’s plan

Whether or not there was a grubby deal that Rishi Sunak made to bring Suella Braverman back into government, the outcome is an even greater attacks on asylum seekers – and migrants generally.This is not an accident. We are in the middle of the biggest attack on living standards in living memory. The situation is going to get much worse after the fiscal statement on November 17. Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are believed to be aiming for £50 billion in cuts and a budget surplus, which is the height of neoliberal economic vandalism.Budget deficits are natural in a downturn, even when the economy is structurally much stronger than after 12 years of Tory rule. Aiming for a budget surplus in the middle of this downturn will entail ferocious cuts and a further sharp cut in living standards.It is entirely predictable that Sunak would want to re-appoint someone who has managed to outdo even Priti Patel in her crassly vindictive implementation of Tories policy on refugees. Braverman’s comments could easily have been uttered by Enoch Powell.Talk of an ‘invasion’ by asylum seekers seems designed to be inflammatory. The remarks were made very shortly after the disgraceful scenes at Manston detention centre and the contemptible firebombing of the centre in Dover.The national mood – which can lead to the kind of gross abuses we’ve seen at Manston, and the far-right attack in Dover – has been created by a succession of Tory home secretaries and those who are more intent on fighting what are euphemistically called ‘culture wars’ than in resolving the crisis of asylum seekers.The crisis is genuine. But it has nothing to do with invasions or swamping or other nonsense. It is the product of successive governments over many years – and it has now reached a new low. The government knows that the first step it could take is to establish a humane processing centre in north-east France which could efficiently establish eligibility. This has been on offer for some time. There is no conceivable and valid reason to reject it, as successive home secretaries have done.The only possible conclusion to draw is that this workable solution is rejected precisely because it resolves the crisis, and would do so with the overwhelming majority of asylum claims being accepted. British officials would then be obliged to bring successful claimants to these shores by much safer methods than they currently arrive. The use of detention would then also fall away entirely, as it should.Yet that would entail ministers and officials working closely with their French counterparts. Albanian officials also now speak of the British unwillingness to engage in serious co-operation with them on the issue of their nationals seeking asylum.To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking hereInternational co-operation, upholding international law and common humanity d o not appear to be priorities for the government. Maintaining a permanent dog-whistle campaign against asylum seekers and all migrants is the priority. You cannot fight a culture war if all the cannon fodder are out of harm’s way.It is reported that Sunak was able to split the vote in the recent Tory leadership contest of the shadowy European Research Group (ERG) MPs by offering to plough on with efforts to undermine the N Ireland Protocol, to maintain the reactionary immigration policy and to offer some of them jobs. Whatever the merits of those reports, it seems to characterise key parts of his policy quite well.The new attacks on living standards are yet to come. But we should be clear that Suella Braverman’s policies are the lethal distraction that the Tories need to smooth the path for austerity.