It is evil

Not according to what has happened so far Baggs. www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/long-reads/alan-kurdi-anniversary-dubs-amendment-calais-refugees-a9083931.html
I see no reason why this should improve now. Things will only get worse.
In the 1930s a few good people worked to bring children whose families were in danger out of Germany.The government put huge restrictions on the process, The children came and were saved because because of good decent people.
I don't know if this policy is evil. It is inhumane and it is immoral.

Just so, alexa. I doubt you will find anyone who disagrees with that.

Meanwhile I've been having terrible trouble trying to read the article in the Independent. It doesn't seem to load properly. So I had a look here: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/withdrawal-agreement-bill.
All I could find with respect to unacompanied child refugees were these two sentences:

The bill requires the government to put before Parliament a ‘statement of policy’ relating to future arrangements around unaccompanied children making asylum applications.

This is a new addition to the bill and amends the EU Withdrawal Act 2018 which previously required the government to seek to negotiate an agreement with the EU on unaccompanied children seeking asylum.

All it would seem to be saying is that the UK's policy on child refugees no longer needs to be negotiated with the EU. If we keep our eyes peeled for any "statements of policy" mentioned above, we will get a better idea of whether the policy of the UK government is "evil". Evidence currently does not seem to support that view, only that campaigners are assuming the worst.

Baggs, mixed good and evil is precisely the middle road between absolute good and absolute evil.

It is the duty of well meaning people to try to judge as well as possible which of two courses of action is the best, or the least bad.

We cannot tell exactly what effect any well meaning act will have. However the best possible care of children is a constant ethic that all good people subscribe to.

Thanks, varian, I'll look at that, but as I understand things so far, the refugee clause in the withdrawal agreement was only put in there to obstruct Brexit. That is what the Times commenter meant by "stripping the bill back to its core purpose".

We can still allow refugee children in and I believe we will.

PS With regard to this claim, in this world there is no unmixed evil or good, Mr Baggs informs me that this is defined as "the fallacy of the excluded middle". Nice to know its official name.

Brexit: Boris Johnson’s bill ‘tears up’ protections for child refugees

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-johnson-withdrawal-bill-brexit-child-refugees-dubs-amendment-a9253841.html

Could you supply a link, please, alexa, or tell me at least where you got your info from? You might even persuade me to accept the view expressed in the OP if you provided evidence for your claim. The Times article did not seem to support it but you must have made the judgment about BJ based on something fairly solid.
Thank you in anticipation.

That's a really cheerful Xmas message as far as I am
concerned, Varian. I love to think faith traditions still have powers for good. May I add, we need to identify the devil when ever it appears?

Helping refugee children is in our DNA

"Welcoming outsiders is not an extra, or simply a charitable idea, it is in our political DNA." That was the message Bishop Andrew gave to Wiltshire councillors debating a motion committing the Council to provide homes for unaccompanied refugee children.

Bishop Andrew joined with Bishop Nicholas and other leaders of faith traditions across the county of Wiltshire to support the 'Safe Passage' campaign that encourages each local authority in the country to welcome ten refugee children a year for ten years.

If successful about 10,000 children would be provided with a safe route from war-torn Syria to secure homes in the United Kingdom. The campaign is inspired by Lord Dubs who was one of 10,000 children saved by the Kindertransport trains from Germany eighty years ago.

After the debate and hearing the speakers, councillors voted unanimously to adopt the 'Lord Dubs' scheme.

www.salisbury.anglican.org/news/helping-refugee-children-is-in-our-dna

Getting this commitment (earlier this year) from the Conservative controlled Wiltshire Council was a great achievement for the campaigning group Wiltshire for Refugees, the Liberal Democrat Councillor who proposed the motion and the Bishop who spoke so passionately in the public meeting.

It is utterly shameful that within days of gaining power the government is reneging on humanitarian commitment of Theresa May's government and so many local authorities.

Last night Dubs said: “It’s miserable. Safe Passage have found quite a few local authorities that are willing to take children. We’re talking about a basic principle here. It’s extremely mean and lacking in humanitarian instincts for the government to keep pulling back on this.”

Yes let's sit back and allow children to be trafficked, abused, sold, damaged and then feel smug because we have cut immigration.

Oh and while we are at it , let's tell the thousands of families who have been vetted and are happy to accept children that they aren't successful in their attempts.

Politics is about how people organise themselves so, yes, I suppose moral decisions come under that heading in a general sense.

As does, I suppose, deciding whether any particular decision is moral, immoral or amoral. But, as with all human affairs, there will be disagreement about which category any particular decision is placed in.

As this thread illustrates. Some people assume that all actions by a Tory government are, by definition, evil/immoral. Some people don't think it is evil and immorality that drives Tory politics. You don't have to be a Tory to take the latter stance. I know several people who, though delighted when Tony Blair first became PM, are far less keen on him now.

It’s on the correct the thread and Alexa I agree totally that every political judgement/decision is a moral one.

Won’t be popular though.

In this world there is no unmixed evil or good

I disagree. Most things are quite complex and can be mostly good but with bad bits, mostly bad with good bits, or an infinite number of variations on that theme. Why would we try to rehabilitate criminals otherwise?

Excellent question Septimia!

I chose the religion and spirituality forum for it because at heart political judgements are moral judgements.

Politics covers almost everything, though, doesn't it? It's life, not a standalone subject. Our political views greatly influence the way we interpret news. Time will tell, I suppose, how much truth is in the allegations. I really hope it's 'fake news'.

I think putting it on religion/spirituality was absolutely accurate. It is an evil act.

Why is this on the religion/spirituality thread? It's political.

"I suspect that whatever provoked the mention of evil in the title of the thread is an over-simplistic and assumptive interpretation of intent."

In this world there is no unmixed evil or good. However to refuse refuge for foreign children in extreme need, refuge and aid we can quite easily provide, is quite a clear cut illustration of what most people mean by 'evil'.

Thanks for the link, hetty. The article and the comments following it are interesting. One comment says: "This is simply stripping back the bill to its core purpose — leaving the EU".

Another says: "The fact that something is not in a bill is not refusing to do it."

And another: "This is one of a handful of tired old ploys used to criticise political foe by assuming the very worst of motives in a given party."

I suspect that whatever provoked the mention of evil in the title of the thread is an over-simplistic and assumptive interpretation of intent.

I am hoping it's the protection given to the '25 year old plus children' that is being reduced.

If we really needed to cut immigration, we could do more checks to stop those overstaying their work or study visas. There are very few refugees by comparison.

Yes, we need immigrants-------to pick potatoes/veg/fruit for 1/6 an hour because the lazy Brits won't do it !! Exploitation-Pah !

Trying to cut immigration? Why do we need to cut immigration?

We need immigrants. And it seems that the words immigrants and refugees are thrown around here as if they are the same thing.

Actually, Curly many Jews were turned away when they tried to flee Germany. Their deaths must be on our conscience. This is not the same situation.