To think the British government reaction to Calais migrants is pathetic?

[ribbitTheFrog]

It's like they're just putting their heads in the sand. Meanwhile people are dying, hauliers are being threatened, holiday makers having trips ruined.

I'd do the following:

Make clear any illegal entries will be turned back to France. Make clear there are not limitless jobs, housing etc in the UK. Make clear no benefits to new migrants (if this isn't the case then change the law).

Presumably the migrants think the UK has lots of money and opportunities, otherwise they wouldn't be risking their lives to leave France (a safe country).

they would get benefits, housing, education and health care in the rest of the EU - I don't understand why people think the UK is the only country that gives out benefits

maybe they want to come here because they know people here, or speak English, or feel our country is safer?

But the idea that we are the most immigrant friendly over run country in Europe is daft!

As a first step there needs to be a military presence put in place to protect the tunnel. It's a shame the EU didn't devote the man-hours spent on the euro to creating a unified armed force. This is not a job for transport workers, lorry drivers and holidaymakers. It makes the EU look pitiful.

It's the xenophobia AND the ignorance AND the total, total lack of empathy. IMO.

The Australian system has worked and it's stopped the illegal boats by putting the military in charge . The legacy of previous soft touch approach that is that all illegals are processed thousands of miles away off shore has also discouraged others from coming insuch numbers . Now the boats have stopped, eventually the off shore processing centres won't be needed and the asylum seekers in the will be resettled in PNG or Cambodia, with whom the Aussies have a deal. Harsh but as a small nation surrounded by Hugely populous 3rd world nations we can't take the risk or we'd be overrun and of way of life destroyed. Many trying to get here recently by boat have paid 10000 dollars per head to jump the queue , pure economic migrants from Sri Lanka . Thankfully all sent back.

It's the lack of ID cards and the possibility of working illegally for cash that makes the UK se desirable.

OttiliaVonBCup Iam sick of hearing about ID cards. It is bollocks. They have ID cards in France and we made them compulsory for immigrants. You are correct that there is zero enforcement (almost) of illegal workkng though. We do not need ID cards.

I'm sorry if the answer to this has been given and I've missed it but this was posted earlier and it made me wonder, how do the people who get here illegally stay for years even if on the breadline? where do they get accommodation and food?

"Well, most of them are economic migrants. I've seen lots of interviews done at Calais with migrants and they're all 'looking for a better life'. They've also been sold the lie that once they're in Britain they'll get housing, work, money to live off, etc. Except when you're illegal you qualify for none of those things. A recent study my MigrationWatch showed that after 10 years many of those coming here illegally are still living on the breadline, hand to mouth, because most of them arrive here with nothing more than a desire to make it to Britain. They don't have education or language skills or anything that would help them to get a decent job, so they're stuck on the margins permanently. But the traffickers who make money from bringing them here don't give a shit about that. They make a living from selling the lie that Britain will provide them with a living, if they can just make it here in the first place."

Just because you're sick of hearing something doesn't mean it's wrong.

Because ID cards aren't compulsory for everyone here, they aren't much use in safeguarding public services from abuse. You might not like ID cards (I certainly don't), but not having them does leave our services more vulnerable than in those countries that insist that you produce an ID card to access anything. Having them for only part of the population is essentially a gate without a fence...

Where do illegal immigrants live? You know those beds in sheds? And those slum landlords who once in a blue moon get fined for housing too many people in insanitary conditions? There, in many cases. Otherwise there are all sorts of informal, community networks that can provide a bit of shelter and support to new arrivals. You want a take away delivered to your door at 3am for a tenner? Guess what, the people cooking and delivering it probably aren't getting national minimum wage. Why not? Employers employ people without the right paperwork and pay them less as part of the tradeoff, and hope that they never get caught.

Just because you're sick of hearing something doesn't mean it's wrong

Of course that is true, but the massive cost and inconvenience of trying to make everyone carry an ID card at all times would just be a waste. How many times do you even see a Police Officer? The French have ID cards......how much good has that done? They are only touted as a solution by people who haven't thought about the costs and practicalities. We don't need ID cards to stop illegal working - some (any) enforcement would be a start-if anyone in power really cared.

it's not just about working, though, it's about being able to function in the society in which you live. Without ID showing that you have a right to access certain services, it is much much harder than in the UK where I have never, ever been asked to demonstrate my entitlement to register with a GP / dentist / midwife etc.

But would we seriously want hospitals GPs etc to say "no ID no entry" ? Of course not, so its pointless.

ID cards would be a pointless waste of time and money - deal with people who are here illegally and leave the rest of us alone.

Ignoring the immigrants for a moment (with whom I have a great deal of sympathy) and looked at purely from a UK economic perspective:

It's time the UK Government recognised the that the cross channel ferry routes are an important national strategic resource. There should be adequate capacity to cover strikes, civil unrest and things like insolvency in foreign ports over which we have no control. I'd advocate investing in alternative routes, even to the point of buying into ports like Dunkirk, Ostend and Zeeburgge, which are excellent deep water alternatives to Calais, with sufficient space, but under-utilised by the ferry companies on cost grounds. We should regard the ports as an extension of the UK road network and pick up some of the costs of maintaining the ferry terminals.

Personally, I'm very very comfortable with a GP or dentist asking me to show proof of eligibility to access NHS care, and I don't understand why others aren't. (A&E is different - but even then there should be a more efficient process to charge people retrospectively if they have accessed services for which they should pay).

And don't get me wrong, I am completely and utterly opposed to ID cards (to the extent that had they been introduced I would have paid the fine / done the time rather than have one), but it is undeniably the case that the fact that we don't have them and other EU countries do makes us a more attractive destination for those who will be living in the grey economy.

Motortrader - excellent point.

I'd be comfortable with an ID card given the number of times I now need to provide ID in the form of passport, driving licence, utility bill etc.

I think a National Insurance number-based ID card could be implemented fairly easily as that system exists already. I don't think we should be attached to systems that worked in a very different world from the one we have today.

I think the ID card issue is missing the point really. Lots of migrants stay in places with ID cards - the UK is well down the list of EU countries taking migrants and many of the countries above it in the most have national ID cards.

One of the appeals of the UK is undoubtedly that it is easy to work on the black but not because of a lack of ID cards - it's because employment laws are weakly enforced. In France employing cheap illegal labour is much harder because there is a system of "work inspectors" who can enforce the law in the event of labour market abuses.

Interestingly, on the ID issue, I live in France and am theoretically obliged to carry around my passport or my resident's card at all times. But I don't generally bother - I think I've been asked for it once in the last decade! We do have "smart" cards for healthcare access though.

It's a shame they won't open a decent refuge camp. There was one at Sandgatte where the migrants could get food and a hot shower and then Jack Straw went in and closed it down. Laws were passed dreaming that any basket giving them leftovers at the end of the day would be arrested, anyone giving them any help was breaking the law. Now they're living and starving on the streets in Calais which must only increase their desperation to get here.
I know it isn't a permanent solution but making their living conditions slightly better might calm down the situation temporarily. It would be a far better use of money than just building more fences.

do the migrants perceive the benefits in Britain to be better than France?

is that why they are so desperate to come here?

I don't think it's missing the issue.

The problem can't be solved easily, the government has to tackle illegal employers, the infamous beds in sheds and other accommodation and yes, ID in addition to that, to access any services.
It might actually make life easier as well, I'm fed up with all the faffing around with utility bills when I need to prove address.

UK has changed, we can't stay delightfully quaint.
As for the cost, how much has the current mess already cost us?

Yes, ssd, the migrants believe that the UK offers more for nothing than France. And I agree with them!

Most of them come here to work.

The question is not why these young men want to leave their own country.. But why they want to keave france. Having lived both here and in francefrance all I can say is they are not being sold a lie about the UK.
The UK is a much better place to live if you are an illegal.
I know two illegals who have set up quite a nice life I over here with no intention of going home

Tenieht NO country should be treating any migrant for whatever reason the way Australia is currently with regards to offshore detention and turning back the boats. I am shocked and appalled at the small-minded, petty bigotry that seems to be coming from some of the people I went to school with, being spouted on Facebook recently.