UK Update 171

Immigration has been an ongoing political issue of great concern in both the UK and Ireland. The Rwanda deportation saga continues to divide opinion in London and to cost the UK taxpayer huge amounts, while demonstrations against proposed locations for immigrant accommodation have escalated to dangerous levels in Ireland. Now the issue of immigration has produced an unhelpful diplomatic row between the two governments, overshadowing the first meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference since the Stormont restoration.

This UK Update follows events from the end of April to the start of May, including the appointment of Simon Harris as Taoiseach, the first British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference since power sharing returned in Northern Ireland, and the 66th plenary meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. The Update also looks at the UK’s rejection of an EU Mobility Scheme, Hilary Benn’s recent visit to Belfast, and the ‘Evolving Debates’ both in Stormont and Westminster.