After the Rwanda fiasco, the next home secretary must be bold – and boring

Braverman’s abject failure to build an effective asylum consensus and the government’s moral turpitude on the matter shows that headline-grabbing has backfired, writes Sunder Katwala

The more eye-catching the proposal, the less likely it is to be of practicable use (AP)

Rishi Sunak's pledge to “stop the boats” has been dealt a grievous blow after the Court of Appeal found that the UK-Rwanda plan is unlawful.

This will not end the arguments about Rwanda. The government will appeal to the Supreme Court, hoping to keep alive what is now a slimmer prospect of starting this policy before the general election. Home secretary Suella Braverman confirmed that she would seek to keep this drama running by saying: “It’s not over yet.” She went on to invoke a familiar theme of claiming to speak for the will of the British people – despite no poll having ever found a majority in support for the Rwanda scheme, and most people wanting a system that combines control and compassion.

Cynical Bravermanites might even prefer the political argument the court defeat gives fuel to. The government could now argue that its plan to solve Channel crossings has been blocked by judges, lawyers and NGOs, casting them as an undemocratic elite. Had the case been won, they would have had to do the hard work of finding a way to put this expensive, impractical and unethical scheme into practice.