Meeting of the Parliament 26 June 2025
It is always a pleasure to follow Stephen Kerr, even when his oration—we might call it a salad of linguistic excitement—on the bill that is ploughing its way through the Westminster houses might lead to both entertainment and concern. However, members across the chamber, and politicians across the whole of the United Kingdom, often talk about taking care in the use of language when something, on the surface, offends, and I think that care should also be taken with language used when one can see an opportunity—rightly or wrongly—to stir people up or incite ideas that others might then use as false information.
It is correct to say that the bill on which we are being invited to agree to the legislative consent motion contains repeal provisions relating to the Rwanda plan that Stephen Kerr talked about and to the Illegal Migration Act 2023. It is right to repeal that legislation. I am more than content to discuss the matter with the member—perhaps it would be more beneficial to do so outside the chamber—as we have done in the past. I had understood that we had reached a conclusion, but perhaps times have changed.
I welcome the bill, but I also welcome the minister’s approach in moving the motion. This matter requires all those who represent constituents across the United Kingdom to work together. There is an interesting discrepancy between the language used about those who are fleeing appalling circumstances in their home country and their legitimate right to travel through safe countries to seek refuge elsewhere, as identified by the United Nations, and those—