The Windrush crisis is cast-iron proof of Theresa May’s incompetence
If there ever was a Prime Minister who has the knack of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, it would have to be Theresa May.
When it comes to set pieces, such as her Lancaster House speech or her handling of various terrorist atrocities in Manchester and London, she gives a reassuring sense of thoughtful competence, finding the right words and the right tone.
Unfortunately, another event always appears just around the corner to undo her good work, such as her embarrassing Brussels Red Eye to agree a Brexit fudge, or January’s shambolic reshuffle.
Read more: Theresa May has personally apologised to the Windrush generation
Now, just when the Prime Minister has shown skilful diplomacy over the Skripal poisoning – winning the support of the US and many allies when opponents said she would be left isolated – and then dealing with the Syrian chemical outrage with an impressive three-hour performance at the Dispatch Box, we have the perfect storm of the Windrush scandal to make her look cold and out of touch.
The plight of these immigrants and their families is shocking.
Those who were encouraged to settle here before 1971 and did so, paying their taxes and putting their roots down, now find that without papers they face deportation. Their human stories, contrasting against the arrogance and bureaucratic indifference of the Home Office, are scandalous enough to sink any government minister’s career.
It is also dangerously unhelpful for Conservative candidates facing the local elections in a few weeks’ time, increasing the possibility of Tories losing votes and control of key London councils.
But for the issue to surface just as the Prime Minister hosts the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting – with leaders of the Caribbean nations from which the Windrush generation originated in attendance – has put May all at sea.
It is all very well for the Prime Minister’s supporters to say that it is a Home Office failing, or that Amber Rudd, the home secretary, is the one who should take the rap. But every time there is a Home Office failure (and they are not uncommon), there is the uncomfortable reminder of the fact that it was May who served as home secretary for six years before Rudd.
We have all played pass the parcel, and that’s exactly what governments have been doing with the Windrush generation.
For decades, those who had come to Britain before immigration rules changed in 1973 believed that they and their children had been given leave to stay in the UK. Successive governments did nothing about formalising their status – the six Conservative, five Labour, and single coalition administrations all failed to bring in laws that would have avoided this shameful scandal.
Now the Prime Minister has been caught holding the responsibility at the most unfortunate and difficult moment, leading to rushed apologies all round and promises to deal with the situation to everyone’s satisfaction.
It remains to be seen if any deportations have already taken place, and if they can be reversed – the fact that the Home Office seems unable to provide details only serves to underline the official mayhem.
It also gives credence to the idea that the department is simply not fit for purpose and will not be able to cope with Brexit when it comes.
The idea has been put around that the Brexit transition period was necessary to allow British business to adjust – but the Windrush debacle suggests that it is really the British government which needs the time to get its own house in order.
What this grotesque episode also tells us is that Number 10’s early warning system – that all Prime Ministers must surely have for early detection of possibly embarrassing news stories – either does not exist or is staffed by people with utterly insensitive political antennae.
Either way, the Prime Minister needs to sort that out too.
If the warning system fails to flag such an obvious problem as people of Caribbean origin who should be considered British citizens facing deportation just when Caribbean leaders are in town, it is highly likely that the Prime Minister will face further yet unknown embarrassments in the weeks and months ahead.
Every time Jeremy Corbyn provides further evidence that he is unfit to lead the Labour party, never mind lead the country, May manages to take the heat off him by succumbing to an unforced error.
Her own staff and the Home Office need to be dealt with, but first she must take personal control and show that the Windrush generation will be given the compassionate restitution these people so obviously deserve.
Read more: Prime Minister u-turns on Windrush meeting as minister admits deportations