Manston, “invasion”, turning back boats, Rwanda. Complex issues like migration, involving vulnerable people, are rarely solved by getting tough, let alone talking tough.
Example from #mentalhealth. 10yrs ago prison policy was made more severe (remember the ban on books?). 1/6
Example from #mentalhealth. 10yrs ago prison policy was made more severe (remember the ban on books?). 1/6
This was meant to appeal to a section of the electorate who, misled by the media, saw prisons as too soft.
“Privileges” were curtailed.
What happened next may not have been cause & effect. Other factors may have played a part. But the timing was exact. 2/6
“Privileges” were curtailed.
What happened next may not have been cause & effect. Other factors may have played a part. But the timing was exact. 2/6
The number of suicides by prisoners doubled from 2012-16. Just 4 years. 135 “extra” deaths, which by the previous trend would not have occurred.
Self-harm too. A fall in self-harm by female prisoners over several years was reversed. 3/6
Self-harm too. A fall in self-harm by female prisoners over several years was reversed. 3/6
Finally the harsher policy was abandoned. Lives were lost, time was wasted, nothing was achieved.
Did anyone take responsibility, except in the current abstract sense? Did anyone, in that all-purpose cliché, learn the lessons?
Did those who cheered the policy stop to think? 4/6
Did anyone take responsibility, except in the current abstract sense? Did anyone, in that all-purpose cliché, learn the lessons?
Did those who cheered the policy stop to think? 4/6
Obviously the migration issue is different in several ways.
But the demonising, the press distortions, the resentment over supposed privileges, the political opportunism, the rhetoric - these are not so different. 5/6
But the demonising, the press distortions, the resentment over supposed privileges, the political opportunism, the rhetoric - these are not so different. 5/6
The migration problem will not be solved by over-simplifying, by abandoning compassion, by degrading our own humanity.
It might be improved by what could have worked in prisons (still could): by recognising the complexity, by putting human lives first, by moral leadership. 6/6
It might be improved by what could have worked in prisons (still could): by recognising the complexity, by putting human lives first, by moral leadership. 6/6
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