Rishi Sunak will regret his Channel crossings crackdown

Rishi Sunak’s latest promises on asylum and immigration suggest the PM has learned very little from his Tory forebears. Ken Clarke used to compare eurosceptic right-wing Tories to crocodiles circling the prime ministerial boat. Most Tory leaders chose to feed the crocodiles buns to keep them happy. But what happens when you run out of buns? David Cameron knows the answer to that one.

Sunak is also offering buns. But when the buns run out – or simply don’t appear – his problems will only grow.

The PM is vowing to crack down on illegal Channel crossings. He promises to clear the backlog of asylum cases. He promises to reject more claims from Albanians. He promises new laws to ‘make unambiguously clear that if you enter the UK illegally, you should not be able to remain here’.

Here’s a wager: it won’t work. The boats will keep coming. And the voters who worry about that will see yet another politician making promises on migration. Promises