Small boat migrants to the UK are 36% UP on this time last year.

If people weren’t getting here by small boat they would still be getting here by other means,

Which means?

Casdon

fancythat

Discernment and wisdom are Christian!

A bit suss when regular N&P posters on a small boat migrants thread think that posters are not talking about small boat migrants!

That’s because ‘small boat migrants’ is one manifestation only of what people are discussing fancythat. If people weren’t getting here by small boat they would still be getting here by other means, until there are better alternatives for them elsewhere. It’s very naive to think the UK can resolve this alone and to criticise a government that’s been in power for a short period for not (as I said before) having a magic wand to resolve something that has been happening for years. That’s not how it works in the real world.

The numbers have increased exponentially though, since Labour moved in and discarded what could have been a deterrent, remember they all went to Ireland, so they couldnt be sent to Rwanda. So Labour seemingly have set out a welcome all mat, apparently more young men , we do not from where, because they lie, destroy papers, as for checking numbers, migration watch are doing the Governments job. We don't need more unskilled migrants.

fancythat

Discernment and wisdom are Christian!

A bit suss when regular N&P posters on a small boat migrants thread think that posters are not talking about small boat migrants!

That’s because ‘small boat migrants’ is one manifestation only of what people are discussing fancythat. If people weren’t getting here by small boat they would still be getting here by other means, until there are better alternatives for them elsewhere. It’s very naive to think the UK can resolve this alone and to criticise a government that’s been in power for a short period for not (as I said before) having a magic wand to resolve something that has been happening for years. That’s not how it works in the real world.

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Discernment and wisdom are Christian!

A bit suss when regular N&P posters on a small boat migrants thread think that posters are not talking about small boat migrants!

I can’t really help you there NotSpaghetti. I heard it on the tv news yesterday morning - hence my (irritating to some) thread. It seems GG13 heard it too which at least backs up my statement.

And Whitewave your cavalier (almost dismissal) of the numbers (a football stadium of irregular migrants each year) somewhat misses my point. We cannot afford to house and look after (fully - even clothe, feed, medicate them) these people. Well I suppose we cannot afford to, because governments (both stripes) and spending millions of ££s every day doing just that. But the trade off is that we are not doing well as a country financially. The UK is in a parlous, debt laden funk and Rachel Reeves is struggling to make headway.

If we got this issue tackled - 66 more arrived at Dover port this morning, bringing the total to just over 30,000 since Labour came to power - our country’s finances would be in a much better state. What we spend on these irregular migrants could be funding much needed things for our own hard working young people. If nothing else it would pay to fill every single pothole! I’d rather see the irregular migrant money spent elsewhere. They are cheeky buggers in my opinion but they still come.

I can't find these 35% figures anywhere.

It doesn't appear on the "small boat" statistics at .gov

I know you said it was someone from border force but I still want to see them really FGT

Oh yes and I forgot what seemed like a whole village from an African state who turned up in full regalia to congratulate their daughter on her graduation at same ceremony as my GS’s graduation. Extremely impressive.

No trouble with visas there!!

Whitewavemark2

I do wonder quite how we as the aging population and with the U.K. population getting older year by year, think that the economy will continue to thrive with year by year diminishing working population. Unless we invite immigrants to come and work here we are going to be in a very precarious economic position indeed.

Unless we invite immigrants to come and work here we are going to be in a very precarious economic position indeed

Yes, we must invite immigrants with the skills we will need.

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fancythat

In fact, remarks like that from whoever says it, makes me question the real agenda going on by some people.

Unless you describe what you think is the real agenda, then it is impossible to reply to that rather silly insinuation.

And this is what the thread is about.

I am surprised you dont know that.

My answer was to Casdon

As far as I know, yes!

Primrose53

I have spent this evening with my friend who is from Tanzania. She says she has lived here now for 25 years and in all that time she has never had a visit from any of her family as they are unable to get visas to come for a holiday.

She is furious that people can just come over in rubber dinghies and get everything handed to them when they are here illegally. She says that we are a laughing stock and in Tanzania they look after their own people before taking in others and treating them better than their own.

When she came here with her British husband she did everything legally so has no sympathy whatsoever for illegal immigrants.

I am surprised about the visa issue as I have a neighbour whose family largely reside in Zimbabwe and they visit him very frequently.

The same applies to people from another African state in my daughter’s village.

I wonder why your friend’s family have such difficulties? Perhaps there is a reason about which you are not aware?

I wouldn’t take too much notice if the idea that we are a laughing stock, or that illegal immigrants get treated better than British people. I’m sure that after some thought you would come to the conclusion that neither is correct.

fancythat

Whitewavemark2

I do wonder quite how we as the aging population and with the U.K. population getting older year by year, think that the economy will continue to thrive with year by year diminishing working population. Unless we invite immigrants to come and work here we are going to be in a very precarious economic position indeed.

I dont know anyone, in real life or on this site that are talking about stopping that.

That is not the issue.
And for most people, never even has been.

So the issue is only the one football crowd equivalent of numbers arriving by small boats each year fancy that, really?

In fact, remarks like that from whoever says it, makes me question the real agenda going on by some people.

Whitewavemark2

I do wonder quite how we as the aging population and with the U.K. population getting older year by year, think that the economy will continue to thrive with year by year diminishing working population. Unless we invite immigrants to come and work here we are going to be in a very precarious economic position indeed.

I dont know anyone, in real life or on this site that are talking about stopping that.

That is not the issue.
And for most people, never even has been.

Before jumping to the conclusion that nothing is being done, look at the whole picture. How many deportations have there been, how many cases have been processed, what was the projection, has the weather been typical for the time of year

I personally dont care about any of that.
The issue is that they arrive in the first place.

I have spent this evening with my friend who is from Tanzania. She says she has lived here now for 25 years and in all that time she has never had a visit from any of her family as they are unable to get visas to come for a holiday.

She is furious that people can just come over in rubber dinghies and get everything handed to them when they are here illegally. She says that we are a laughing stock and in Tanzania they look after their own people before taking in others and treating them better than their own.

When she came here with her British husband she did everything legally so has no sympathy whatsoever for illegal immigrants.

I do wonder quite how we as the aging population and with the U.K. population getting older year by year, think that the economy will continue to thrive with year by year diminishing working population. Unless we invite immigrants to come and work here we are going to be in a very precarious economic position indeed.

I believe you petra, knowing people from the Balkans and their attitudes.
Some posters seem to be overly optimistic about the whole situation which is extremely complex and cannot be tackled by the UK alone.

Allira
When this was reported a few days ago I contacted a few friends in Bulgaria and one in Romania to ask what people were saying.
I had a good idea of what the answer would be as I lived in Bulgaria for 5 years. All the Balkan countries have a bad track record with racism, North Macedonia being the worst and Serbia not too bad.
As I know you’re aware the Roma community suffer terribly.
I really can’t see where they are all going to be housed.
It will have to be the hotels in the resorts. They are shut from Oct- April. I can’t see The Mafia allowing the migrants to stay there in season ( they own the resorts)
I remember when a lot of Syrian migrants were illegally crossing from Turkey. There were armed vigilantes with guns waiting for them. People were killed.
This isn’t going to go well.

Allira

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Casdon

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Wyllow3

Its central government funded FGT wherever you live.

This I do know Wyllow.
Until Labour come up with a viable plan, Rachel Reeces’ sums will continue to give her a headache. Imagine factoring all this into her Spring Statement tomorrow!

Were you expecting a magic wand? That’s the only reasonable way that in eight months Labour could have stopped the boats. This a a very complex problem, with very complex solutions, which are being tackled slowly but surely.

I agree Casdon.
I want Labourto do well on this. But let’s face it, they’ve had 14 years in opposition to think about this. Then they cancelled (what in my view was the only viable deterrent ‘Rwanda’ straight away) and I truly believed that the had A Plan.

“Smash the Gangs” is not working.

This a a very complex problem, with very complex solutions, which are being tackled slowly but surely.

It is a complex problem but an increase of 36% does not indicate it is being tackled at all, let alone slowly but surely.

You don’t need me to tell you that three months figures do not constitute a time period to be statistically significant, do you?

Before jumping to the conclusion that nothing is being done, look at the whole picture. How many deportations have there been, how many cases have been processed, what was the projection, has the weather been typical for the time of year, are boat migrants really the major issue or is it part of a bigger imigration numbers being unsustainable issue etc. etc.

Nobody is denying that there are issues that need to be tackled. However, I don’t know what it is that makes people jump on strap line bandwagons like this without looking at the picture in the round, not just on this subject, at times Gransnet does my head in.