Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s refusal to put a deadline on small boat crossings is wise – because it denies critics an easy attack line.
The simple fact is that stopping people from fleeing places that are dangerous for them, in the hope of settling in one that is comparatively peaceful and unspoilt, is not an overnight job.
It will take a lot of hard work at the negotiating table with leaders of other countries, and on the front line of the war with international criminals who prey on refugees.
Right-wing headbanger populists who try to present this as a simple case of foreign opportunists trying to steal our jobs or benefits are lying to you.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
And this should be clear to anybody who pays attention. The UK is apparently heading into a recession so there are no jobs to be had – and refugees don’t get public money on an indefinite basis. That’s why there was a recent scandal about so many of them being homeless. Thirdly, of course, Labour has sent back a large number of people who arrived here by illegal means.
What, you didn’t know? Since Labour came to office it is true that 20,000 people have arrived in the UK in the infamous small boats. But the government has also deported 13,460 – sent them back to their own country. So the net (sorry) increase of people who have been caught coming in is 6,540, and that’s already a big improvement on anything the Tories managed.
(Ah, but were the Tories even trying? Having a large number of Johnny Foreigners coming here provides a great opportunity to play their favourite game – “Divide and Rule” – by giving the xenophobes among us someone to hate. And the Tories did cut every public service they could, including the Border Force that was supposed to protect us.)
In diplomatic terms, the UK has just signed a deal with Germany to make it easier to prosecute people there who are helping to smuggle people into the UK.
But the real work – as This Site has stated many times in the past – is to stop people wanting to live in the UK in the first place.
That means encouraging them to stay at home – and that means working to make their home countries healthy and welcoming places to be.
With so many countries embroiled in conflict between political and religious factions whose very philosophy is about imposing their will on others, with violence if necessary, that is a hugely complicated and difficult task.
And that is the reason Yvette Cooper can’t put a deadline on ending small boat crossings.
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Cooper’s refusal to put a deadline on small boat crossings is wise
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s refusal to put a deadline on small boat crossings is wise – because it denies critics an easy attack line.
The simple fact is that stopping people from fleeing places that are dangerous for them, in the hope of settling in one that is comparatively peaceful and unspoilt, is not an overnight job.
It will take a lot of hard work at the negotiating table with leaders of other countries, and on the front line of the war with international criminals who prey on refugees.
Right-wing headbanger populists who try to present this as a simple case of foreign opportunists trying to steal our jobs or benefits are lying to you.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
And this should be clear to anybody who pays attention. The UK is apparently heading into a recession so there are no jobs to be had – and refugees don’t get public money on an indefinite basis. That’s why there was a recent scandal about so many of them being homeless. Thirdly, of course, Labour has sent back a large number of people who arrived here by illegal means.
What, you didn’t know? Since Labour came to office it is true that 20,000 people have arrived in the UK in the infamous small boats. But the government has also deported 13,460 – sent them back to their own country. So the net (sorry) increase of people who have been caught coming in is 6,540, and that’s already a big improvement on anything the Tories managed.
(Ah, but were the Tories even trying? Having a large number of Johnny Foreigners coming here provides a great opportunity to play their favourite game – “Divide and Rule” – by giving the xenophobes among us someone to hate. And the Tories did cut every public service they could, including the Border Force that was supposed to protect us.)
In diplomatic terms, the UK has just signed a deal with Germany to make it easier to prosecute people there who are helping to smuggle people into the UK.
But the real work – as This Site has stated many times in the past – is to stop people wanting to live in the UK in the first place.
That means encouraging them to stay at home – and that means working to make their home countries healthy and welcoming places to be.
With so many countries embroiled in conflict between political and religious factions whose very philosophy is about imposing their will on others, with violence if necessary, that is a hugely complicated and difficult task.
And that is the reason Yvette Cooper can’t put a deadline on ending small boat crossings.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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