Asylum seekers settled aboard a docked barge in south-west England on Monday, a highly controversial project that has become symbolic of the British government’s fight against immigration.
The first group of migrants boarded the “Bibby Stockholm” on Monday, a huge barge 93 meters long and 27 wide, moored in the port of Portland in the south-west of the country and supposed to eventually accommodate up to 500 migrants. The first of them were already due to arrive last week before a last-minute postponement, emblematic of the successive setbacks encountered by the Conservative government in its migration policy.
Sending asylum seekers in docked barges is one of the very symbolic ideas brandished to save money in reception. The subject has created controversy and angered local residents, some fearing for their safety while others denounce a “floating prison”. The authorities refute this term and assure that migrants will be able to enter and leave as they wish.
The Conservative government, struggling in the polls a year before the legislative elections, has toughened up its anti-migrant rhetoric and is promising, in vain for the moment, to put an end to illegal crossings in the Channel.
A new law that came into force in July and denounced up to the UN now prohibits migrants who have made the perilous crossing, there were more than 45,000 in 2022 and are already nearly 15,000 in 2023, from seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.
The asylum system is failing to keep up with the demands, so more than 130,000 asylum claims are still waiting to be assessed, most for more than six months, according to the latest government figures.
This article is originally published on rtbf.be