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The reason to stop the boats on 12:09 - Jan 31 by Swansea_Blue
Yes, I’m surprised we haven’t deported him. But as I mentioned earlier, the mum is happy he’s being locked up as she feels they are getting some justice. We’d need good agreements and collaboration with his home country if he were to be deported and detained there instead. Without that he’d just be escaping any sort of justice. And Brits get held in the countries where they offend all the time, so I suppose that’s just the way of it. We probably just need to accept it as a necessary cost of a functioning (barely) justice system. In the grand scheme of of things, 1 person is probably no a big deal.
"No big deal"? Good grief.
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The reason to stop the boats on 12:14 - Jan 31 with 909 views
The reason to stop the boats on 10:26 - Jan 31 by Benters
One of the main reasons UK is attractive is we are a soft touch.
There’s No Such Thing as an “Illegal Immigrant” When Seeking Asylum
The term “illegal immigrant” is more propaganda than fact. It is a label used to dehumanise those fleeing war, torture, persecution, and poverty. It serves a political purpose, not a legal one. In reality, under international and British law, there is no such thing as an “illegal” asylum seeker. The right to claim asylum exists regardless of how someone enters the country.
People arriving in small boats across the Channel are doing so not by choice, but by necessity. The UK has made legal pathways for asylum either inaccessible or non-existent. Resettlement schemes are limited, family reunification takes years, and most people in need of protection do not fit into the narrow categories drawn up by Home Office bureaucracy.
Crossing the Channel irregularly is not a crime if you are claiming asylum. This is protected under the 1951 Refugee Convention, which the UK helped draft and remains legally bound to uphold. That means people fleeing danger have a right to seek protection here, even if they arrive on a dinghy, even if they paid someone to help them do it.
But populists rely on myths. And the most repeated lie is that asylum seekers are living the high life while others suffer. The truth is much less convenient. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work. They are given less than £7 a day to survive on. They are housed in hotels or temporary accommodation not because they are privileged, but because the government has failed to process their claims efficiently or invest in proper housing.
Another favourite scapegoat is the idea that asylum seekers are housed while veterans sleep rough. It is a deliberate false equivalence. It was not an asylum seeker who put the veteran on the street. It was the government. The same politicians who cut mental health services, slashed housing budgets, and sent people to war now pretend to care about those they abandoned. Asylum seekers did not create that injustice. They are simply being used to deflect from it.
The same people crying crocodile tears for homeless veterans never campaign for better housing, mental health support, or long-term care. They only remember veterans when they want to weaponise them against people with darker skin or foreign accents. It’s performative outrage, not patriotism.
Populists will always need someone to punch down. If it isn’t asylum seekers, it will be migrants with work visas. If not them, then Muslims, Black communities, trans people, or anyone else who can be turned into an “other”. That’s how populism works. It stokes anger, offers easy targets, and never delivers real solutions. It is a tactic straight out of the far-right playbook. Dehumanise refugees. Create a false sense of scarcity. Stoke fears. Then ride the wave of resentment into office. It's not new. It's just recycled hate wrapped in a Union Jack.
Britain’s real crisis isn’t on the shores of Dover. It’s in Westminster. The NHS is underfunded. Social care is collapsing. Schools are stretched to breaking point. None of this was caused by asylum seekers. It was caused by years of austerity, tax cuts for the rich, and political choices that favour the wealthy over the working class.
Let’s not pretend Britain is some innocent bystander. Many of the people arriving on our shores come from countries Britain helped destabilise, plunder, or bomb. From Iraq to Afghanistan, Sudan to Yemen, we played a role in creating the chaos people are now fleeing. And when the consequences of that knock on our door, we act surprised.
If we are serious about stopping Channel crossings, we should start by offering safe routes. And if we want fewer war refugees and fewer British veterans suffering trauma, then we need to stop getting involved in endless foreign wars. Stop backing proxy conflicts. Stop interfering in other nations' affairs under the illusion of liberation or democracy-building. These wars not only destroy other countries, they create the very conditions that force people to flee, while also producing the veterans the same populists claim to care about.
Tens of millions have been spent on gimmicks like the Rwanda deportation scheme or keeping people in floating barges. None of it has worked. None of it was meant to. These policies are not about fixing anything. They are political theatre, cruel, expensive, and entirely performative.
The anger in this country is real. But it’s being misdirected. It’s not the boat people who closed your local A&E. It’s not the refugees who made your rent unaffordable. It’s not the asylum seekers who are creaming profits off your energy bills.
The real thieves wear suits, not life jackets.
Asylum seekers may qualify for support under Section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, but only if they’re destitute or at risk of becoming so. This includes basic accommodation (e.g. in a hotel, hostel, or Home Office housing) and a small weekly allowance.
Typical weekly payments: - £49.18, if their lodging does not include meals. - £9.95, if their accommodation does include meals. Additional small boosts for pregnant women or mothers of very young children (e.g. +£5–£9 per week, plus a one-off £300 maternity grant).
They cannot claim Universal Credit or other mainstream state benefits while waiting.
Compare that to a 25 year old Brit who has never worked in their life in the uk so not contributed in tax in any. They get £400 per month, or about £92 per week, plus housing allowance etc
There’s an estimated 1.7m brits aged 16-30 who have never worked, so even if only 50% of those claim the minimum benefit, that’s a cost of £4bn per year vs the £260m per 100k asylum seekers.
The reason to stop the boats on 08:31 - Jan 31 by redrickstuhaart
The asylum process here is not streamlined. It was massively underfunded by the last government such that applications took years to work through. Which is a major part of the problem.
It’s weighted more heavily in favour of the asylum seeker than in France. I’m not lying to you, there are many benefits of claiming asylum in the UK as opposed to France and that’s is ultimately why the extreme risk is being taken in order to leave France and enter the UK.
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The reason to stop the boats on 12:26 - Jan 31 with 827 views
The reason to stop the boats on 11:01 - Jan 31 by Tonytown
Is this a good enough explanation for you??
[Post edited 31 Jan 11:18]
Completely not.
The lady said a large number of the the illegal immigrants choosing to leave France to the uk is because many of them have ties to the UK, such as those who supported the British army in Afghanistan…
Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy is in place to support these people. This is supported prior to arriving in the UK and supports those people to enter the UK legally.
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The reason to stop the boats on 12:35 - Jan 31 with 791 views
Really? I’d suggest your position is probably an outlier then because that’s the case across much of Europe including such draconian countries as Denmark and Belgium. If Herbivore arrived in virtually any country avoiding border control you’d be detained whilst they did due diligence on you. I really don’t see how therefore that’s a controversial stance especially at a time when we have a belligerent power waging non-conventional war against Europe.
That doesn’t mean they can’t be treated well in the interim whilst their applications are processed. You may mean well but that view is just going to feed the far right.
I typed a long reply but lost it due to train WiFi. Here's the potted summary:
- I don't think it's right to say that it's an outlier view to think we shouldn't detain all asylum seekers. - Measures to monitor, yes, measures to detain high risk individuals or those where there is evidence of criminality, also yes with appropriate safeguards. But detaining all asylum seekers? Not for me, Clive. And not for many others I suspect. - Don't really care about Denmark, they've famously taken a Draconian approach to immigration and "social integration". Politics is complex, it's possible to be liberal in some areas and authoritarian in others (look at the US, look at us). - If we're going down the route of detaining whole groups who might pose a risk, why not apply that to other groups? How about care leavers (who are massively overrepresented in the prison population) or people with mental health or substance misuse issues (both also massively overrepresented in criminal justice)? Just detain all of them until we've assessed they are the right kind of care leaver or person with substance misuse issues. - If you detain a group of 20 asylum seekers and 10 are from Afghanistan, 6 from Syria, and 4 from Iran, are you going to get on the blower to the Taliban, the Ayatollah, and whoever is running Syria these days to ask for a character reference? And even if a Taliban DBS existed, could you trust it given the corruption and political and religious persecution (which is what is being fled in the first place)? Are you going to go off vibes instead? - Your final sentence is patronising nonsense. Far right extremism doesn't flourish because of those who oppose it. It flourishes because those in the middle turn a blind eye or tacitly approve of the creep rightwards. History tells us that. So you arguing my view we shouldn't detain asylum seekers feeds the far right but your view that we should detain asylum seekers doesn't is like arguing black is white.
The reason to stop the boats on 12:17 - Jan 31 by JackNorthStand
It’s weighted more heavily in favour of the asylum seeker than in France. I’m not lying to you, there are many benefits of claiming asylum in the UK as opposed to France and that’s is ultimately why the extreme risk is being taken in order to leave France and enter the UK.
We may have a higher approval rate here than France, but they take more and have always been one of the top 3 countries in Europe along with Germany and previously Sweden for taking the highest numbers. The ‘offering’ to asylum seekers is also similar to here. They give adults more money, but none for kids; they get access to their national healthcare system same as anyone else and a pathway to citizenship. We’ve just taken away automatic citizenship rights and pretty much removed any chance for anyone arriving through illegal routes.
They’re having exactly the same smearing in France and their right are telling them that they are the easy touch. It’s how the National Rally has got on; same playbook at Reform, Tories and to a small extent Starmer’s Labour.
The reason to stop the boats on 12:17 - Jan 31 by JackNorthStand
It’s weighted more heavily in favour of the asylum seeker than in France. I’m not lying to you, there are many benefits of claiming asylum in the UK as opposed to France and that’s is ultimately why the extreme risk is being taken in order to leave France and enter the UK.
The reason to stop the boats on 12:26 - Jan 31 by JackNorthStand
Completely not.
The lady said a large number of the the illegal immigrants choosing to leave France to the uk is because many of them have ties to the UK, such as those who supported the British army in Afghanistan…
Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy is in place to support these people. This is supported prior to arriving in the UK and supports those people to enter the UK legally.
Got anything to put up against all the other numerous good points she made, or just that one debatable one?
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The reason to stop the boats on 13:18 - Jan 31 with 617 views
The reason to stop the boats on 12:26 - Jan 31 by JackNorthStand
Completely not.
The lady said a large number of the the illegal immigrants choosing to leave France to the uk is because many of them have ties to the UK, such as those who supported the British army in Afghanistan…
Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy is in place to support these people. This is supported prior to arriving in the UK and supports those people to enter the UK legally.
"The schemes themselves were far from perfect. Many Afghans eligible for relocation were wrongly rejected due to errors by Home Office caseworkers. Our client Hamidullah, who worked at the British Embassy in Kabul for 18 years, remains separated from his two sons in Afghanistan. His story was recently featured in The Independent: “I worked for the British in Kabul embassy for 18 years. Let me reunite with my sons”.
This is not an isolated story; but these schemes did at least offer hope to Afghan refugees. The government has removed that hope."
The reason to stop the boats on 13:13 - Jan 31 by FoghornGleghorn
Got anything to put up against all the other numerous good points she made, or just that one debatable one?
I mean, i just made my point and if you would have engaged in some conversation and responded to the point I had just raised perhaps we could have had some conversation but you have given no input and replied with another question, you seem to think this is an interview. 🤣
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The reason to stop the boats on 13:36 - Jan 31 with 555 views
"The schemes themselves were far from perfect. Many Afghans eligible for relocation were wrongly rejected due to errors by Home Office caseworkers. Our client Hamidullah, who worked at the British Embassy in Kabul for 18 years, remains separated from his two sons in Afghanistan. His story was recently featured in The Independent: “I worked for the British in Kabul embassy for 18 years. Let me reunite with my sons”.
This is not an isolated story; but these schemes did at least offer hope to Afghan refugees. The government has removed that hope."
Thanks for sharing and that’s a fair point, the plan was far from perfect in practice but I believe that is a failure by our government. This was under the Tories but doesn’t seem to of changed since Labour came in. If what the lady said is correct and this is one of the issues surrounding who is coming across the channel, then supporting the Afghans with the scheme in a more effective way could, without doubt be a positive step towards reducing the number of people crossing.
Another positive is that way, the government confirm who those people are.
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The reason to stop the boats on 13:38 - Jan 31 with 548 views
The reason to stop the boats on 10:31 - Jan 31 by Herbivore
If we're such a soft touch and everyone wants to come here, how do you explain that by population size there are 16 European countries who receive more asylum applications than us per year?
I think you replied to the wrong post there Herbs x
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The reason to stop the boats on 13:41 - Jan 31 with 518 views
The reason to stop the boats on 08:04 - Jan 31 by Mullet
Then you have to admit you are in the tiniest of minorities, as the vast majority of people who share your views are openly and appallingly racist. The rhetoric and accusations are racist by design when you read it.
The sad issue is, very few people want anyone taking small boats across the channel but their motivations vary wildly. I've taught a fair few of these immigrants from all over the world, most of them just want to live and have a chance away from the horrors they've escaped.
But it is easier to broadbrush all of them, we've got a hotel down the road. A couple of dozen rounabout painters have been down there showing off on social media and causing issues. The immigrants in the hotel haven't. Yet every time something happens in the community they're the first target. It doesn't show us in the best light if you ask me either.
The previous government absolutely screwed up this situation, Brexit made it worse. The two groups most responsible for it are now promising to fix it and demonising those with the job of trying to clear it up.
They're also the people have damaged the system you're talking about beyond repair - threads like this show that people are looking at the wrong things, the people and the wrong ideas to fix what they're claiming they care so much about.
"The two groups most responsible for it are now promising to fix it and demonising those with the job of trying to clear it up."
100% this.
Those promising to clear it up have no real appetite for doing so either. They benefit from the problem themselves far too much.
The reason to stop the boats on 12:14 - Jan 31 by brazil1982
"No big deal"? Good grief.
You do realise he is referring to the fact he is incarcerated in our prison system as opposed to the country where he came from.
I would rather know he is denied his freedom than hope another country denies him it. Once released (assuming he ends up being), he will then be sent back I am sure. That is also right.
None of this should be used to demonise all asylum seekers in the same way as the many other examples in many other demographics listed.
The reason to stop the boats on 15:30 - Jan 31 by Nthsuffolkblue
You do realise he is referring to the fact he is incarcerated in our prison system as opposed to the country where he came from.
I would rather know he is denied his freedom than hope another country denies him it. Once released (assuming he ends up being), he will then be sent back I am sure. That is also right.
None of this should be used to demonise all asylum seekers in the same way as the many other examples in many other demographics listed.
He should never be released,people are getting scared of this kind of person mooching about amongst the general public and as this case proves they are right to be scared.
The reason to stop the boats on 06:39 - Feb 1 by Benters
He should never be released,people are getting scared of this kind of person mooching about amongst the general public and as this case proves they are right to be scared.
"this sort of person"? Do you mean violent offenders? Or foreigners? Because they arent the same thing. Its as if you have determinedly ignored everything written in this thread.
The reason to stop the boats on 08:23 - Jan 31 by Benters
Did you see him watching that poor lady when she was working,then followed her.He then had a good old dance after he’d stabbed her a few dozen times with a screwdriver.
But sadly this is what it has come to,and I’m not going to say all those young men on the boats are wrong’uns but a lot are, and for once I’m not going to blame Labour totally for this,the conservatives were just as bad at sorting it out.
Still smash the gangs and all that..
"I’m not going to say all those young men on the boats are wrong’uns but a lot are"
You're going to provide data to back up that statement right?
Right?
SB
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The reason to stop the boats on 11:00 - Feb 1 with 210 views
The reason to stop the boats on 07:49 - Feb 1 by redrickstuhaart
"this sort of person"? Do you mean violent offenders? Or foreigners? Because they arent the same thing. Its as if you have determinedly ignored everything written in this thread.
You forgot royalty.
"They break our legs and tell us to be grateful when they offer us crutches."
The reason to stop the boats on 06:39 - Feb 1 by Benters
He should never be released,people are getting scared of this kind of person mooching about amongst the general public and as this case proves they are right to be scared.
Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.
The other thing to remember, Benters, the good guys were also the scruffy ones, not the Imperial guard.
“ In Kent, Reform has approved plans to stop commissioning ‘Community Navigation services’, which help people over 55 find and access services in their local communities. They also greenlit plans to reduce funding and redesign mental wellbeing services for older people”
“ At Lancashire County Council, Reform has been consulting on potentially closing five council-run care homes and five day centres which provide support to older people.”
“ Worcestershire County Council, where Reform is facing a £73 million budget shortfall next year and is considering raising council tax by 10%”
Suffering has begun, Reform are causing more economic damage than asylum seekers.
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The reason to stop the boats on 12:37 - Feb 1 with 125 views
The reason to stop the boats on 13:33 - Jan 31 by JackNorthStand
I mean, i just made my point and if you would have engaged in some conversation and responded to the point I had just raised perhaps we could have had some conversation but you have given no input and replied with another question, you seem to think this is an interview. 🤣
I was simply making the point that you say Zoe Gardner's explanation is "Completely not" enough, and then proceed to dispute precisely one (and the weakest) of the points she made. So, fine, I'll just restate the other points she made, since they're entirely accurate.
Immigrants aren't only coming here because they supported the British army in Afghanistan. In many cases it's because of familial links to Britain, or because they speak English as a result of British history, and not the language of any of the other countries that happen to be between them and us.
If Zoe Gardner's explanation is "Completely not" enough, what is it about these points that isn't resonating with you?
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