The People demand that the Boats are Stopped.

[noblegiraffe]

I keep reading about the Tory government working hard to deliver the people's priorities:

"Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Government are focused on five immediate priorities. We will halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut NHS waiting lists and stop the boats."

Halve inflation (will happen anyway), grow the economy (vague), reduce debt (vague), cut NHS waiting lists (maybe by paying nurses and doctors more?), stop the boats (what?).

Maybe it's just where I live, but I'm not seeing this immediate urgent need to "stop the boats". It's certainly nowhere near my top 5 priorities for the government to be immediately tackling. If it was, I'd probably look at creating legal routes for genuine asylum seekers as a first step rather than shipping them to Rwanda.

Is it in your top 5 urgent government priorities? Are they speaking to the people and I've just completely missed it?

YABU: Stopping the boats is in my top 5 government priorities.
YANBU: I'm more concerned about something else and would bump Stop the Boats down the list.

Erm, Calais isn't in the UK. You do know that right?

You think the whole of the UK is in ruins because 45,000 people arrived on our shores in boats last year?

Yes? You know that the French have actively requested this, right?

Maybe it's just where I live, but I'm not seeing this immediate urgent need to "stop the boats".

I don't know anyone who doesnt want the boats to stop. How can you be ok with want it continuing? People are dying on them as traffickers just abandon them unsafely. Maybe you need to live near the coast to appreciate how dangerous the sea is. You sound heartless. It doesn't affect you so just leave them to their fate.

No waaaaaay. Did you know Rwanda is also not in the UK right? I guess it makes more sense to fly people to Africa and create a processing centre there, than one 1.5hr away from our shores where we already have staff and infrastructure.

@noblegiraffe Great. Why do you think the government hasn't done that?
@Dodgeitornot No, but there has been years of decline and complete lack of care for the actual citizens. The government seems to have cut benefits, free education, health services, social housing etc. I think people will stop wanting to come here soon anyway.

French Officials have already suggested that British immigration officials process asylum requests in northern France

No one is saying they shouldn't stop. The whole point of the thread is that given the many other, very serious problems the UK has right now, this one may not be in the top 5 for most people.

That's the whole point of the thread. For most people, the decline in public services and overall quality of life has been so huge, the boats are not in the top 5 in their list of urgent priorities they think the PM should be addressing.

I didn't say that they shouldn't be tackled. I said it wasn't one of my top 5 government priorities to absolutely focus on.

Is it in your top 5? Ahead of sorting out NHS emergency services, knife crime, rape convictions, social care, other things where people are unsafe?

The government is a massive machine. They are quite capable of working on several things at once. They have different departments to work on different issues. I don't see how education reform is being stalled by boats being prevented from sailing from France. Its not like anyone from the education dept is being asked to work on the boat situation.

Well you're right, but the whole point of the PM breaking down his top 5 priorities is to make it clear what he will throw money and staff at. So whilst yes, obviously the whole party will be working at running the country, these are the 5 areas he has deemed as the most most important. That's really what the op is saying; given the state of the country, boats is in your top 5? Really?!

@Dodgeitornot Ah, I see. I the UK generally is overcrowded and it's not good for its citizens. Stopping the boats wouldn't solve the problem, but it's a factor. So a more general discussion on immigration and asylum seekers would be in my top 5.

OK, I'd missed/forgotten that this was something the French were requesting. My mistake.

I don't understand why the government doesn't set up the centre in Calais. I can only imagine they don't want to make the process any easier than it is.?

I don't know anyone who doesnt want the boats to stop. How can you be ok with want it continuing? People are dying on them as traffickers just abandon them unsafely. Maybe you need to live near the coast to appreciate how dangerous the sea is. You sound heartless. It doesn't affect you so just leave them to their fate

Absolutely agree that nobody should have to attempt this crossing in the way that they do, calling the craft they are travelling in 'boats' is an insult to anything remotely boat like. I don't like the fact that the Government has 'stop the boats' as one of its key slogans and yet has done actually very little to deal with the situation.
I might be an old cynic, but given its just over a year to the next election and lots of people are really struggling, I think they won't work that hard to remove a handy scapegoat whilst simultaneously utilising it for political gain !

Yes and no. I think the UK feels overcrowded because theres been 0 investment in infrastructure. The last 20 years has seen population grow but leisure facilities close, investment in public services slashed or completely taken away. The UK housing market is one big fat international investment bank for foreigners. It does all feel very squished for all but the very rich.
The general consensus on this thread does seem to be that conversations around immigration should be a priority, but I think people have mostly misunderstood what OP even meant.

I don't understand why the health dept can't sort out the NHS, the education dept can't sort out education, and the home office can't sort out border control? How is the health and social care dept sorting out health and social care ssues being prevented from doing its work because there are a contingent of civil servants from another dept trying to stop the horrendous trade of risking peoples lives?
Is animal welfare in your top 5? So no animal welfare issues should be addressed because of problems in the NHS or education. Sorry all you hens that are suffering cruelly in your cages. Nobelgiraffe doesn't have you in their top 5. So you just have to keep on suffering and being in pain. 🙄
Your whole premise is crazy.

So what's the point of the PM having a top 5?

This…

The top 5 isn't noble giraffes idea...

@Nightlystroll Those are all excellent questions you should ask your MP to put forward to your PM, seeing as he is the one banging on about this top 5.

The Tories are busy blaming ‘the boats’ for the other things on the list -

NHS crisis? Too many boat people
Teacher crisis? Too many boat people
Housing crisis? Too many boat people

and anything else that will fit the narrative of the DM reading working class Tory who thinks they deserve ‘more’. Quite often the older demographic who are in fact largely contributing to many of the ills by living too long at gobbling up NHS resources to stay alive longer!

I don't understand why the health dept can't sort out the NHS, the education dept can't sort out education, and the home office can't sort out border control?

The answer to that is because the Tories are in charge, have been for 13 years and everything is a total mess due to their woeful incompetence and sometimes active corruption.

Rishi, the Prime Minister, is telling everyone that his government is going to focus on the top 5 'people's priorities' which he has listed per my OP.

I am not convinced that stopping the boats is actually a top 5 'people's priority', hence me asking in this thread whether it is in your top 5.

Is it in your top 5?

Nobelgiraffe clearly agrees with having a top 5 list because she's stated her own top 5. Stopping drowning people just wouldn't be one of them