How bothered are you about Small Boats?

[Spinet]

I think the idea that people think Small Boats with illegal immigrants on them is a really pressing issue is made up by politicians to have something to campaign on. Am I right? Is this a pressing issue as far as you're concerned?

I'm not really talking about immigration/ asylum seekers in general, just the small boats everyone keeps mentioning. If you're worried about people dying in the channel I get that, but do you think people finding their way here illegally is a major issue for our country at the moment?

I think it's clear I don't but I will accept I'm wrong about this being a made up issue if the majority disagree with me.

If you want to vote YABU= this is one of my top ten concerns. YANBU = I don't think it's a top ten issue for the country.

Almost 7,000 people arrived in one 24hr day on Lampedusa last weekend; more than 120,000 migrants have reached Italy this year according to one of the euronews links posted above (about midday). No wonder the Italians have a far right government!

People need to show their passport before even getting on the plane. It’s nonsense that you don’t (other than some uk/Ireland crossings or Schengen area).

Yep you’d think people would see the pattern

Yep! Both times getting out and then in

It’s such an odd claim

I've not made up an mystical beast called an illegal asylum seeker, or said there are 10s of millions of refugees in the UK. Or made up the reasons for housing shortages, lack of school places, lack of hospital capacity unlike some others on this thread.

What exactly do you think I have made up?

Those houses are OWNED by people, you can’t just take them like some nazi regime.

Secondly Labour have promised to build over the green belt as part of a levelling up scheme.

“ back the builders, not the blockers” according to Starm.

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/labour-will-build-on-green-belt-to-boost-housing-starmer-says-12882668

@Lastchancechica No, I don't. Maybe not an echo chamber so much as a majority?
I work with migrants (colleagues and clients). Recently, we've been discussing the shocking lack of humanity of the people who can't see past the boats to the babies and children drowning as they try to make the crossing.
In my line of work, I can see very, very clearly that immigration is not the problem.

Can you link the evidence ?

So you support the people smugglers responsible for the deaths of babies and children ?

Lol - yeah there’s no housing crisis either. And you don’t need a passport to travel internationally. Except if you want to immigrate as a Dr from Afghanistan then you need to get a dingy as you can’t apply for a work visa.

honestly why bother arguing with such rubbish

She/he has a boat which is capable of crossing the channel, obviously. But does not have to be checked by immigration officials ( or customs?)

hmmmm…..

Since you asked.

Here are a selection of examples.

Boston-Dartmouth
Halifax - Brixham
Brixham - Fecamps
Poole -Dieppe
Fecamps-Dover- The Hague
Ijumeden - Harwich

You get the idea.
When the weather is right there are 1000s of sailing trips across the Channel, it is very rare for passports to be checked in those cases.

BTW the log book isn't particularly special, its fairly typical of those that sailors keep to log their journeys.

@Lastchancechica Of course, that's exactly what to take from my post.
Obviously not. However I very much doubt you, and the others posting things such as "no wonder Italy has a far right government", do.
It'll horrify you, but I think entrance to the UK for these people should be made legal and safe. Yes there will need to be controls in place, but let's remove the need to risk everything in an unsafe dinghy. I'm sure you'll take this to mean "we should let everyone in, no holds barred", which is absolutely not the case, but more needs to be done to create a safe, legal process to tackle smugglers and the unnecessary loss of life.

How greedy to sail in a boat when someone else could use it.

The better question would be is what kind of person you must be to own more homes than you need when there are people with no home.

How selfish is that?

Oh poor you - I can see why you might struggling to imagine why all of those pesky working class people won’t shut up and let the boats come with the bum wipers and housekeepers. Silly me.

It's cynical Tory buzzwords designed to push the buttons of the Little Englanders they hope will vote for them.

Gym memberships

And there's no such thing as illegally seeking asylum. Another lot of bobbins put about by the Tories and their pet media.

Landlords?

There is a housing distribution crisis. That is different from a shortage of housing. Why does someone need 12 homes and think they should pay a smaller proportion of their income in tax than teachers and nurses?
What kind of morals does such a person have?

You made up that drs need a salt language test and that’s why they are on boats - not true. You made up that you can travel internationally without a passport- not true. And so on.

an increase in population does put pressure on housing and public services. It’s not the only thing that does that but it is one factor.

making up different nonsense doesn’t win any debates. It just loses you respect.

Was does the Italy part of this post mean?

There's a very easy way to stop about half of them - the ones full of Albanian guys wanting to come here and work in construction and the trades, who we could really do with coming here and employing! Set up a visa scheme for those jobs, problem solved. Of course you'd have to do that for all countries.... gosh if only there were a simpler way?

I'm not bothered by people migrating, but I appreciate it's easy for me to say as a comfortably off big city dweller - TBF, I can to some extent understand the frustration of people in areas where there are scare, low-paid jobs around; I remember, for example, years ago hearing a radio interview with someone from a coastal town saying how she could always get a summer job working in hotels, but now her teen couldn't because they were all taken up by young Eastern Europeans. To my mind this is a problem of exploitation because employers could pay older people from poorer countries the sort of rates only teenagers would accept, rather than a problem of migrants.

The fact is, the UK, and every other wealthy country, needs to find a way to create a pro-immigration culture and economy. We have an ageing demographic that will require immigrants of working age and there will be ever increasing movements of people that we will need to accommodate.

What about that sailing?

That could be used to get across the channel

thats utter nonsense. The housing crisis isn’t because some own 12 unoccupied properties. That’s just more made up stuff.

we haven’t built enough housing for years. There are no easy answers- we need to spend the time and money building.

I suggest you find an image of the Hamble, or any number of other South coast anchorages and you will find 1000s of boats that are capable of crossing the Channel. There is no border control on the Hamble, or at most other UK ports, the same is true at similar ports on the coast of continental Europe.

I don't think this is a difficult concept?