Boats this month…

394 arrived yesterday as expected due to much improved weather.

More expected for today when figures are released.

MT62

You know exactly who she means twaddle, people who arrive on the boats!

Answer to Nanna8s post

You know exactly who she means twaddle, people who arrive on the boats!

And now they are leaving from Belgium as well so Rachel will have to dip into our taxes again to pay the same amount as they’ve paid to France I expect
Will be interesting to see how many actually arrived today..

It’s misleading to put up numbers for when no people arrive because if one looks at the stats over time, there are always periods like that when conditions are probably too poor to cross, sandwiched between periods when large numbers of people arrive. 2025 was exactly the same as the gov.uk graphic shows

But what we do know is that compared to 2025 numbers are down and more asylum applications are being processed faster with the number of returns and deportations up.

It’s very naive to think that a Trump-like character, by which I assume you mean Farage, could do anything about this without breaking international law and where would that lead?

(Also crossing land borders and water jurisdictions are very different - not subject to international maritime law for one thing ).

You can’t just dump people back in France. It would constitute an act of war, And while military conflict is unlikely to ensue, France could make life very difficulty for the UK simply by blockading all air, rail and sea ports.

France acts as a massive transit hub for British and European supply chains. Trigger a blockade and and just watch the imports (and exports) the UK relies on grind to a halt. Panic buying would occur, supermarket shelves would empty and businesses which rely on export markets would fail. That could be the reality of breaking international law.

Twaddle - "The UK actually benefits from most of the immigrants allowed into the country. Why should we stop them?"

I thought this thread was about those arriving illegally on the boats. Currently :-
The UK government estimates that the asylum system, which often overlaps with illegal entry (such as small boat crossings), costs approximately £3 billion per year. This includes nearly £6 million per day spent on hotel accommodation for those awaiting processing

I would think that is a very good reason to try to stop them

I don’t necessarily think highly of him generally - like I said he certainly has had some crazy ideas, but I am thinking about how he has stopped, or at least drastically reduced, the number of Mexican migrants and drug smugglers from pouring over the border into the US.
He said he would do it and he did.

AGAA4

twaddle I also don't believe Trump could stop the boats. It's amazing anyone thinks so highly of him. He can't even please his own people.

Thanks! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

twaddle I also don't believe Trump could stop the boats. It's amazing anyone thinks so highly of him. He can't even please his own people.

Oreo

twaddle

JenniferEccles

And of course they will keep on arriving, especially during this calm warm weather.

Meanwhile, yesterday police forced their way in to addresses across the country housing Afghan migrants all of whom slipped in here illegally by various means.

These migrants are suspected of being involved with child sex crimes.

Do we have any chance of a future government having the determination to do whatever it takes to stop these illegal arrivals ?

Well, yes, we do have a chance. You've just demonstrated that the current government was determined enough to find Afghans who had been living here illegally.

It’s the tip of the iceberg tho!

True, but mighty oaks from little acorns grow.

JenniferEccles

This will be a very unpopular opinion, and I am well aware there is much to dislike about him, but until we have someone like Donald Trump here in charge, we have no hope of stopping these small boats.
There is no way he would tolerate the absurd situation we are in here, seemingly unable to prevent hundreds of thousands of immigrants illegally entering our country.

To date I wonder how many millions we have bunged in France’s direction to ‘stop the boats’ ?

So if you what Trump, would you be prepare to accept the rest of the baggage which goes with him? I'm not sure even he could come up with a plan to stop the boast from arriving.

MartavTaurus

I can confirm it's a calm as a millpond out there at the moment. ⛴️
I think 394 rocked up yesterday, May 22nd, and no doubt many more expected given the favourable conditions.

“Rocked up”?

You really believe it’s that simple?

This will be a very unpopular opinion, and I am well aware there is much to dislike about him, but until we have someone like Donald Trump here in charge, we have no hope of stopping these small boats.
There is no way he would tolerate the absurd situation we are in here, seemingly unable to prevent hundreds of thousands of immigrants illegally entering our country.

To date I wonder how many millions we have bunged in France’s direction to ‘stop the boats’ ?

I can confirm it's a calm as a millpond out there at the moment. ⛴️
I think 394 rocked up yesterday, May 22nd, and no doubt many more expected given the favourable conditions.

If 70 landed the other day you can bet your boots that over the next week of hot weather many more will arrive.
Over the first weekend in May 800 arrived.

twaddle

JenniferEccles

And of course they will keep on arriving, especially during this calm warm weather.

Meanwhile, yesterday police forced their way in to addresses across the country housing Afghan migrants all of whom slipped in here illegally by various means.

These migrants are suspected of being involved with child sex crimes.

Do we have any chance of a future government having the determination to do whatever it takes to stop these illegal arrivals ?

Well, yes, we do have a chance. You've just demonstrated that the current government was determined enough to find Afghans who had been living here illegally.

It’s the tip of the iceberg tho!

Exactly Chestnut !
That’s the whole point isn’t it?
They shouldn’t be here in the first place !

Quote: You've just demonstrated that the current government was determined enough to find Afghans who had been living here illegally.

But too late, they had already been involved in child sex crimes. Wouldn't it be better to stop people like that entering the country in the first place, and not be left wondering how many more there are.

JenniferEccles

And of course they will keep on arriving, especially during this calm warm weather.

Meanwhile, yesterday police forced their way in to addresses across the country housing Afghan migrants all of whom slipped in here illegally by various means.

These migrants are suspected of being involved with child sex crimes.

Do we have any chance of a future government having the determination to do whatever it takes to stop these illegal arrivals ?

Well, yes, we do have a chance. You've just demonstrated that the current government was determined enough to find Afghans who had been living here illegally.

"MigrationWatch" is known for being very biased. It's much better to get information directly from government sources or from "The Migration Observatory", which produces all sorts of data about migration after subjecting it to rigorous academic scrutiny.

This report, which is about the fiscal contribution of migration, gives examples of how "Migration Watch" is contradicted by other researchers. They do it by not considering the wider picture and cherry picking certain data.

migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/the-fiscal-impact-of-immigration-in-the-uk/

And of course they will keep on arriving, especially during this calm warm weather.

Meanwhile, yesterday police forced their way in to addresses across the country housing Afghan migrants all of whom slipped in here illegally by various means.

These migrants are suspected of being involved with child sex crimes.

Do we have any chance of a future government having the determination to do whatever it takes to stop these illegal arrivals ?

Why do people choose to get information from Migration Watch, Chestnut (and others)? There's an excellent government source you know (posted up thread).

Seventy odd landed yesterday

It is hypocritical Cossy when they say live on tv (during these marches), I would take in a migrant. Then in the next breath, ‘oh I can’t’ I am a university student, or I forget I live in a one bedded apartment.
Every one of them had an excuse when it came to helping these people.

nanna8

Many will no longer bother to go , especially young uni students who are more welcome in mainland Europe.

British universities do, however, have two distinct advantages: firstly, the language spoken is English. Some courses in mainland Europe are even run in English because that's so important, but they tend to be less prestigious courses.

Secondly, some courses at British universities are, without any doubt, world class and foreign students will pay for them (or they are sponsored by their government or other bodies).

Foreign students pay three times as much as home students and it's a valuable source of income for the universities and a source of money coming into the country.

During the Industrial Revolution, the UK could sell its goods abroad because industrialisation meant they were cheaper. We no longer have that advantage, so need to sell what we are good at doing, one of which is education. The sector is worth billions to the UK economy.