you have made too many assumptions in your post
I dont think I've made any assumptions, just responded to what you have said.
You can in seconds fact check my assertion that ten million people have indeed arrived since 2000. Your suggestion that it is factually incorrect is wrong
I don't recall saying it was wrong, I asked where it came from. Actually, we are in violent agreement about the number as my stats match yours. An average of 325k per year over the last 30 years, with a spike after Brexshit add up to just under 10 million. I think our disagreement is over the impact, as we have had that kind of net migration for many years, and it hasn't been seen as the issue it currently is. The spike after Brexshit is causing concern, but economic migration is a well proven benefit. I dont recall this level of hysteria 20 years ago when the numbers were more or less the same.
We already offer ways to obtain a legal visa, but most of the illegal people pitching up here would fail that process - so they lie and manipulate and exploit the system or disappear once here. people arrive here in all kinds of ways, not just ‘small boats’.
The irregular migrants pitching up in small boats are mostly asylum seekers, and have no way of applying without getting here first, hence my earlier suggestion.
The illegals who vanish don't appear in any of our stats because they are illegal and they vanished.
The way to solve this is to clamp down on the people who pay them in cash, and who house them. This is already happening.
There have always been various type of attempts to enter Britain. It used to be in trucks, now it is small boats. Small boats have risen in 'popularity' since Brexshit because the French are no longer obligated to help in the way they did previously.
This current government are allowing this crisis to get worse
Other countries do manage it better. The last government made the situation much worse, especially with Brexshit. This government has increased processing and the level of returns is higher than the preceeding government, so to say they are doing nothing is disingenuous. Are they doing the right things? Probably not enough. I think there is too much focus on small boats to pander to the right wing part of the electorate. What they should be doing is coming up with a coherent, long term strategy that hits the root cause like stopping the employers of the illegal immigrants.
Starmer isn't my cup of tea either, but it is too early to tell. He was left with such a cluster by the previous administration, it will be a few years before the dust settles.
they have achieved nothing at all of note,
NHS waiting lists are shorter
Public services are receiving more funding and beginning to show improvements
More returned immigrants
Processing of immigrants happening faster
Net debt held constant (could do with it dropping of course)
They are pretty chunky achievements, and I would say notable. Is there more to do? Yes. Has he made some blunders? Yes. Take winter fuel allowance, since you raise it. Great idea, but the bar was in the wrong place. I know many pensioners who don't need it, so it was the right decision, but the cut off should have been in a different place. That kind of miscalculation does not help him.
As I said, it will take longer than a year to resolve the previous 14 years of shit.