Why do Labour not get it?

[Dacatspjs]

It's being reported today that Labour want to stop using hotels and move migrants into barracks. Fine. But when quizzed on it Luke Pollard has suggested this will be more expensive, but the public want the hotels to close at all costs so it will be worth it.

This to me just seems like another step forward for Reform. The public who care about this, care about how much the government is spending on migrant housing. A new policy that costs more isn't going to go anyway towards solving this problem.

I don't know what the solution is, but spending more money getting mothballed barracks up to spec seems ludicrous.

"Asked about whether it would cost more to house migrants at military bases than in hotels, Mr Pollard insisted that 'the public want to see those hotels close'.

But he added: 'We're looking at what's possible and, in some cases, those bases may be a different cost to hotels, but I think we need to reflect the public mood on this asylum hotels need to close.'"

@EasternStandard, I have enjoyed debating this with you today. I really appreciate you keeping things on topic and not descending to personal insults as many on this and other thread have. Thank you.

Likewise, and thanks 😀

The Rwanda Plan was illegal, do you really think it was going ahead?

Labour will indeed struggle to stop the boats, just as the Tories did.

Reform's plans to stop them are bonkers and the costs will be very high

That doesn't mean we should demonise and dehumanise asylum seekers.

The Inverness barracks isn't remote. It's right in the middle of town near schools and walking distance to the shops

On channel 4 news tonight the migrants said they were desperate to return to the uk because Brexit meant Uk was the only country where they wouldn’t be forced to stay in the first place of possible refuge. Meaning that Brexit may have caused this huge rise in arrivals.

Yes it was going ahead the court ruling was overcome by legislation.

It’s not impossible to resolve this. If it’s not resolved after the next GE I think unrest will become even more problematic.

This isn’t true. You know migrants do stay in ROI, Germany and other countries when they entered via first countries prior to that?

No deal Brexit meant the UK lost access to the security databases (Eurodac and SIS) that checks if refugees have claimed asylum already in other EU countries.

Yeah I’m just going on all the 19yo reform council leaders but maybe he’ll get some better MP candidates? Hopefully ones with a better work ethic than Farage had when an MEP. My local Labour MP had a career in various postings as part of the diplomatic service. So not Westminster at all. Seems quite well travelled actually.

They plan to house 300 migrants in Inverness army barracks. The barracks are really close to one of the biggest secondary schools in the Highlands which is surrounded by trees. Its also within minutes walk of the city centre. Inverness already has a huge shortage of housing for local people, a shortage of doctors and dentists.

Locals are absolutely furious and the backlash has already started. Its not safe to house hundreds of unchecked migrants next to a school and Highland council have had no say in this decision. There are loads of uninhabited islands of Scotland they could host them in until settled status is given if applicable but instead the government have chosen to do this.

Unrest could be stopped by not making asylum seekers scapegoats, changing the rhetoric around asylum seekers by both politicians and media.

Reform has nothing to offer other than being anti immigration. And they have no realistic policies on how to deal with the boat crossings.

I’m not particularly interested in who says they can do it. Everyone will vote for whoever anyway.

If crossings keep going up and we get to another GE without change so another five years of increases it will be a problem.

There’s a couple of places it could diverge eg French election or other. But generally increasing numbers will cause issues.

I’m not surprised. I’m not sure why Labour want this.

But do you agree the rhetoric around asylum seekers is problematic?

It’s not illegal to seek asylum but they are not doing it via an approved route.

I asked this question upthread but didn’t get a reply so I’ll try again:
If it is legal to claim asylum what laws are those organising the dinghies crossing the channel breaking?
If the gangs are indeed illegal then how can Starmer smash them when they are operating in France?
Do any other countries with high levels of refugees also try to ‘smash the gangs’?

No it’s the killing and rapes and hanging around in groups that’s the problem.

The majority of asylum seekers do not kill or rape.

Hanging out in groups applies to many people.

This is a shocking decision . Having seen groups of men standing around in groups leering- yes even at me, a grandmother in her 60s- in Glasgow, it breaks mg heart to think of Inverness ending up the same.

I thought you were supporting everyone on their asylum quest and were more that happy to pay additional tax and even to house them, if only you had the space.

If you are so happy with that, then are you saying it's broken?

I agree with this 100%.

You are talking nonsense

The asylum system is broken because there is a long backlog in processing claims which is why people are stuck in hotels.

When people are in the process, they need housing and food, a basic human need the country should supply.

When asylum gets granted, people can start to intergrate,

When asylum doesn't get granted, people get deported.

If you want to shout at hotels or paint roundabouts, go ahead

If you have a problem with me treating asylum seekers as humans, well that says a lot about you.

So many words, so little sense.

You keep using the same key words and you keep contradicting yourself while desperately trying to find a gotcha moment.

You are just making up stuff about me.

I'm making my opinion about you based on what you have written.

People don’t arrive illegally because of the hotels. They come here because,

Once they’re here, they’re almost guaranteed to get to stay. They can make up any story, and they will get asylum.

They get free healthcare, and everything else including a fully funded lifestyle.

When they get asylum, they can bring their extend families over, multiple children, elderly relatives

The extended family gets everything given to them. Imagine a whole family that’s never contributed anything, now getting housing, free education free healthcare, benefits.

They can travel straight back to where the ‘fled’ from on holiday. It happens all the time.

The system is a joke. Closing hotels is tinkering around the edges. It’s like fiddling while Rome burns. It’s manipulating and taking the public for fools while the huge numbers coming in continues.