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LEADING ARTICLE

The Times view on Sunak’s Channel dilemma: Migrant Gamble

The public is yet to be persuaded by the government’s rhetoric on small boats

The Times
Sixty-three per cent of voters think Rishi Sunak is likely to fall short of his own lofty promise
Sixty-three per cent of voters think Rishi Sunak is likely to fall short of his own lofty promise
LEON NEAL

Rishi Sunak sells himself on being a methodical politician who believes that outcomes should be attainable and measurable. Four of the five key pledges that the prime minister made in January, on inflation, growth, the national debt and hospital waiting lists, are clearly open to audit. But his fifth, on illegal migrants, referred only to new laws to detain and remove them, not figures. However, in making small boats a cardinal policy he has shackled himself to the numbers game.

Mr Sunak and his home secretary, Suella Braverman, have a lot to prove and not much time. The trouble is that the public do not believe they are capable of delivering. A poll conducted for this newspaper by YouGov last week indicates that, despite a