Illegal migration is out of control, and it is local communities up and down the country who are footing the consequences of catastrophically ineffective policy. 220 asylum hotels across villages, towns and cities sit as stark reminders on the doorsteps of the British public that successive governments have repeatedly failed. They can see in real time how their taxes are being misspent and their borders mismanaged. Is it any wonder that their trust and confidence in politicians has plunged to record lows?
The hotels are costing astronomical quantities of taxpayer’s money. Aside from blocking out entire buildings for an unknown period, there are the added costs of travel, translation, healthcare and even recreational activities – amassing to billions of pounds. But there is a social cost to this too. In the quaint village of Datchet in my constituency, The Manor Hotel on The Green is housing up to 85 “single adult male” migrants. Just over a mile from Windsor Castle, businesses which rely on tourists from the hotel are suffering and some residents are selling up altogether. These are the real-life impacts of failure and are evident up and down the country.
It’s getting worse under the Labour government. Over 23,000 people have crossed the channel since they took office, up 29% on the same time during the previous year. Increased crossings this summer loom large. One of the government’s first acts was to recruit more Home Office caseworkers to plough through asylum cases. But with an asylum acceptance rate of 52% – rising to a staggering 66% for those who arrive in small boats – quicker processing is doing nothing but hike, and lock-in, the bill for the British taxpayer through social housing benefits, healthcare and the welfare stare. A growing wave of rubber-stamped applications is overloading local authorities, piling pressure onto our local NHS services and depleting an ever-dwindling stock of (social) housing. Rather than a solution, faster processing is a catalyst for shrinking the size of the pot. Once these people are approved, they are here to stay for five years, and then eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
It’s not good enough to deal with the problem efficiently. We must prevent it from occurring in the first place. Currently, every step of the way, we have an incentive system. Smuggling gangs know that they can equip migrants with unseaworthy vessels because they know they will be picked up by the British authorities before they sink. Migrants know that once they land, armies of lawyers and campaign groups will fight to keep them here while they are housed in hotels and given an allowance for the trouble. When two thirds of applications from illegal migrants arriving on small boats are granted, the odds are stacked firmly in their favour. Why wouldn’t they chance their arm?
Collectively, we are the fools for putting a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The only way to stop the boats and end the use of hotels once and for all is with a deterrent. While frustration in the courts led to delays in implementing the Rwanda scheme, when it finally was on the horizon, Labour refused to give it a chance – despite to this date being the only deterrent on the table. They scrapped it on day one. Their argument that the mere prospect of the Rwanda scheme was in any way a measurable precursor for the actual deterrent when fully introduced is weak and flawed. Why would a swathe of European countries begin sourcing their own Rwanda-style deals with third countries if they didn’t believe it would be effective?
Without a proper deterrent, Labour’s pledge to “smash the gangs”, their caseworker recruitment drive and manifesto promise to stop using hotels are purely academic. Swift detention and deportation will deter: as soon as this starts happening, it will send an abundantly clear message to anyone who thinks they can come here illegally. Only this way will communities across Britain like Datchet see their hotels once again occupied by tourists, not asylum shoppers.
Without a proper deterrent, Labour’s pledge to “smash the gangs” and stop using hotels is purely academic
