Could flights to Rwanda bring about the change in fortunes this frustrated prime minister so desperately needs?
The polls remain stubbornly unmoving, suggesting nothing Rishi Sunak has done so far has captured the public’s imagination, while the Labour Party, which has promised to junk the Rwanda policy altogether, appears to be on track for a significant win at the general election.
But something the prime minister said during today’s press conference could give a hint at the kind of election he wants to fight.
In response to the series of questions posed to him by journalists in the room, Mr Sunak said: “We’ve got to finish the job.”
Politics latest: Rwanda flights starting ‘come what may’
A phrase that we may hear more and more as the election campaign ramps up.
The Rwanda bill – a policy first proposed by Boris Johnson – is in fact more popular than the Labour Party might like to admit.
In a YouGov survey from June last year, those polled were 42% in favour of it compared with 39% against.
However, there lies one big elephant in the room: the Conservatives are no longer the most trusted party on immigration.
If we look at recent YouGov polling, 21% of people think Labour would handle asylum and immigration best, whereas just 14% believe the same of the Conservatives.
Admittedly this is not exactly a ringing endorsement of the public’s faith in either party, but it is especially challenging for Mr Sunak.
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‘Success when boats have been stopped’
Clearly, although a significant section of the UK’s population may agree with the Conservatives on the premise of the policy, they do not trust them to deliver on their promises.
And it is that loss of trust that may mean today’s press conference has little effect on the public’s views of the prime minister, his party and the policy as a whole.
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Insisting that 200 case workers, 150 judges and 25 court rooms are available to wade through the expected tidal wave of legal challenges may sound impressive to some, but are the disenchanted voters who once voted for a Tory Party promising to crack down on migration still listening?
Today the prime minister told the nation: “Labour’s priority is stopping the planes, not stopping the boats” – this attack line might be catchy, but if flights of asylum seekers take off to Rwanda in July and August (something the prime minister insists will be the case) and the polls remain much the same, Mr Sunak has a much broader problem than immigration.
