UK border controls debate - March 2021

The Sylvan UK border controls debate considered the following motion:

The UK should adopt Australian-style border controls as part of the fight against Covid.

The debate took place on Monday, 1st March. Mike Douse proposed the motion and Lissi Corfield opposed it.

The proposition supporting the view that the UK should adopt UK-style border controls

The proposer evoked the different approaches taken between the UK and Australia, the vastly smaller death toll there, and the current near-normal life enjoyed by Australians. Vaccination has given us hope but new variants may escape them, as we now have the Brazilian variant here. Australian immigration control has been controversial. Their quarantine is strict and universal, with frequent testing. In the UK nothing is strictly enforced, due to incompetence. This will allow new variants to enter, with borders at best loosely controlled.

He cited four main reasons to support his case. First, if you have border controls, the only way is to do it properly, otherwise variants will enter. Second, spring has led to a sense of relaxation of restrictions, right when we need to keep our guard up. Third, human kind’s abuse of nature via rampant capitalism can be addressed through lower travel and carbon emissions. Fourth, well-vaccinated populations are susceptible to variants from outside, so long as other countries are not fully vaccinated. Border controls of course need to sit alongside other key covid-suppression measures of vaccination, test and trace, affordable isolation and on-going sensible behaviour such as social distancing.

The opposition against the motion

The opposer agreed with the range of measures the proposer cited to control the pandemic, with the addition of a robust health service and PPE; in other words, border controls aren’t the only solution. Vaccines have succeeded so far, whereas UK test and trace compares unfavourably to Australia’s. The NHS has held up well, though the government acted far too slowly. ‘British common sense’ has turned out to be ‘not that common’! The UK instituted border control too late and in a failing way. It should have been stricter, but not Australian style. Why not the Swedish behavioural approach with an Australian level of test and trace?

Why Australia, she asked? We should not fetishise Australia, they were racist, which means it is dangerous to use them as a model. Dumping immigrants on an island should not be considered a model to emulate. The UK government’s focus centres on Brexit, cutting overseas aid, and to an extent immigration. New Zealand has done better than Australia. Tough love sounds lovely, ‘don’t let a crisis go unused’ – but we can stop variants without the Australian system.

Floor speeches from the audience of the UK border controls debate

Floor speakers covered a wide range of issues related to border controls and covid. Quarantine must be free in order to be effective, and coverage high as opposed to today’s 1%. Scotland’s border controls underscore the lack of control, as people can simply fly to England and cross the border. The country is ‘incapable’ of putting in measures to protect the public. Several speakers highlighted the differences between the UK and Australia. They have much stricter immigration and internal border controls, and a totally different attitude. The country doesn’t have the attitude or personnel to make these controls happen.

Some speakers pointed to the phrase ‘Australian-style’ in the motion, focusing on the practical means rather than political comparisons. Track and trace can only be effective when there are fewer than 1,000 cases per day. This augers for a stronger suppression strategy with border controls. Several speakers believed that it is too late to institute strict controls with variants already present here and case levels low. However, it was pointed out that additional new variants are likely to arise, making the current situation a viable time to institute strict controls. If new variants evade vaccines through natural selection, and updated vaccines do not come quickly enough, the country would be exposed to a further wave and potential additional lockdowns without such controls.

The opposer’s rebuttal in the UK border controls debate

In rebuttal, the opposer clearly reiterated her view that the debate is about whether the UK should adopt the Australian model. This would not fit the UK’s position as a travel hub. Australians want to keep out foreigners, which is not the model to adopt here.

The proposer’s closing speech

In closing, the proposer stressed the need for an affordable quarantine approach. The differences between Australia and the UK are not that great. While there are unsavoury elements to Australian immigration controls, this debate is about the border controls, not Australia itself. Any system similar to Australia’s would do.

Result: in the final vote, the UK border control debate motion carried

The Sylvans concluded through the UK border control debate that the UK should put in place Australian-style border controls as one means of controlling Covid.

See information on other Sylvan debates here.

In this UK border control debate, the Sylvans considered if the UK should institute Australian-style border controls due to Covid and agreed.

Sylvan Debating Club

UK border controls debate – March 2021