
From Dunkirk's ‘Little Ships' to today's ‘small boats'
It is hard to think of a better illustration of the absurdities imposed on the British people by Sir Keir Starmer's failure to get a grip on the Channel crisis. The costs of the uncontrolled flow of migration from the beaches of France continue to mount, with taxpayers paying roughly £4.6 million each day for their accommodation, and there is little prospect of this flow ending.
While the Germans were unable to halt the small boats in 1940, the French are unwilling to stop them in 2025. The British state, meanwhile, appears essentially content with letting things carry on as they are.
Sir Keir's pledges to 'smash the criminal gangs' and to establish 'return hubs' carry little weight when set against his actions, and in particular the decision to gut the Rwanda scheme, which could have functioned as a possible deterrent.
There should be little surprise in Downing Street, then, at modelling which predicts arrivals hitting a new record high this year, or at tumbling support from a population tired of excuses rather than solutions. Unless Sir Keir is willing to come up with a genuine policy for dealing with the Channel crisis, Labour stands little chance of re-election.
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Telegraph
26 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Labour's shameful electoral manipulations have doomed the capital
Sir Keir Starmer appears to be learning from his party's newfound unpopularity. Having watched Labour slide in the polls and Reform and rival Left-wing parties surge, the Government now seems to be taking steps to ward off potential electoral setbacks. Regrettably, however, rather than simply governing well, its choice of tactic appears to be constitutional tweaks that benefit its candidates. The somewhat misleadingly named 'English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill' is set to scrap the use of first past the post voting in mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections, replacing the system with the 'Supplementary Vote' used before 2022. Before its reintroduction, we should recall why this system was abandoned in the first place. No voting system is perfect, but the 2021 London Mayoral election saw 114,000 votes – 5 per cent of the total – rejected as voters appeared to be confused by an overly complicated system. In other words, a Bill supposedly intended to 'empower' voters will do so by introducing a system that is likely to mean that a large number accidentally lose their say – and, indeed, in a manner which the Labour Party seems curiously uninterested in introducing for Westminster seats, where it benefits from the division of votes between the Conservatives and Reform. It is difficult not to suspect that this move, instead, reflects growing concern over the potential for a Corbyn-style candidate to derail Labour's attempt to secure yet another victory in London's Mayoral election. This would be a setback for a capital that has suffered under the last decade of Sadiq Khan's misrule. A culture of arrogance and entitlement in City Hall has seen standards slip, from the woeful performance of the Metropolitan Police to the leadership of Transport for London, which accused public-spirited campaigners of daubing graffiti on trains they had filmed themselves cleaning. The imposition of the Ulez expansion and the generalised war on cars has coincided with a 10-year high in store closures across the capital, this year's Wimbledon tournament being branded an 'international embarrassment' as London's transport system has failed to cope, and rampant fare-dodging – with Robert Jenrick seemingly doing more to combat the problem in his spare time than the Mayor in his years in office. The costs of these failures are borne by Londoners, those who commute into the city, and those who visit it. So, too, are the costs of the inflated salaries of Mr Khan and his senior staff. London deserves better, and the opportunity to obtain it. Labour's shameful manipulations may well deny it the chance.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Starmer's migrants return deal a ‘publicity stunt' that won't win back voters, top pollsters warn
Sir Keir Starmer 's much-lauded 'one in, one out' migrant return deal with Emmanuel Macron is a 'publicity stunt' that won't win back voters, Britain's leading pollsters have warned. Professor Sir John Curtice, Lord Robert Hayward and Luke Tryl have suggested that the small scale of the agreement, which will only see a tiny fraction of those arriving on small boats returned to France, will have little or no impact on the prime minister's dwindling popularity because of record low trust in the government. The problem was underlined on Thursday when more than 700 migrants arrived on small boats just hours before the announcement of the deal, which will reportedly see only 50 returned a week, although ministers have refused to discuss specific numbers. It comes as new polling reveals concerns about the government's wider migration policy, with polling of Labour party members, seen by The Independent, showing opposition to Sir Keir's plans to crack down on legal migration as well. According to a Survation poll of 1,304 Labour Party members for LabourList, 53 per cent oppose plans to only allow migrants the right to apply for citizenship after 10 years of being in the UK on a work visa, up from five years. Only 36 per cent supported it. The measure is a key part of bringing down legal migration, along with banning the overseas recruitment of care workers. But it highlights splits within the Labour Party over both the plans for legal and illegal migration, with some on the left unhappy with the deal, which will see the UK accept the same number of asylum seekers with family or strong ties to the UK back. The focus on tackling both legal and illegal migration has been part of a strategy to tackle the loss of votes to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. The most recent Techne UK poll for The Independent put Reform up one point to 29 per cent, seven points ahead of Labour, who were down one on 22 per cent. Reflecting on whether the migrants return policy will impress voters, Prof Curtice said: 'I would be surprised if it were to have a 'significant' impact.' Lord Hayward, a Tory peer and highly respected pollster, said the announcement was 'a publicity stunt', adding: 'The deal will have no impact really. There are so many questions about the plan.' He also noted that the real problem for Sir Keir and his government is a record low level of confidence in the government. 'I think the figure for net confidence level may be at or on a par with the worst ever,' he added. Only 23 per cent expressed confidence in Sir Keir's government, according to the Techne UK poll, compared to 63 per cent not confident, giving an overall rating of -40. Meanwhile, Luke Tryl, director of the More in Common think tank, said the glimmer of hope for the government would be images of migrants who had come to the UK on small boats being returned to France. On Friday, more than 350 migrants cross the English Channel, according to the Home Office. Mr Tryl said: 'I suspect this deal, in of itself, wouldn't make much of an impact. But if it is seen like 'this is happening', and I think particularly once people see people actually being removed, I think that is going to be something that has the potential to be quite powerful.' However, he said that the small boats crisis and the rising number of people coming across the English Channel illegally - currently at over 21,000 and 53 per cent higher than this time last year - was seen 'as evidence that the government has lost control'. Mr Tryl added: 'We have around seven in 10 people saying the government isn't in control, and as I say, Channel crossings are one of the most visible signs of that.' He noted: 'It's interesting, they've avoided the 'stop the boats' language used by Rishi Sunak. I think they've been quite sober about this, which I think is good, given where public expectations are. 'But there is no doubt that Channel crossings are a major motivator of support for Reform. They define the immigration debate. If you ask people the priority between tackling small boats and levels of migration overall, 74 per cent say the priority is small boats.' There is some disquiet on the left of the Labour Party that plans to open 'safe and legal routes' for asylum seekers are no longer part of the discussion as Sir Keir 'obsesses' about the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform. One senior figure on the left of the party said: 'We need to zoom out a bit more to have that perspective. I don't at all think it will be enough to satiate Reform and those demanding a very hard line approach. 'The conversation needs to be broadened out to proper discussion on safe legal pathways and migrants working whilst claims are processed.' Another leftwing MP described the left of the party as 'wounded' with recent announcements and suggested that the question is 'whether MPs have the stomach for a coup' against the prime minister. But one cheerleader for the announcement with France is Labour's MP for Dover and Deal, Mike Tapp, whose constituency sees most of those arriving via small boats, has been calling for much tougher action. He said: 'Massive strides have been made in tackling the small boat crisis. What will Reform do? They'll continue to fall apart. This, combined with record deportations and removals and taking down criminal gangs with counter terror powers - will make a difference.' The government has been contacted for a response.


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Dads call for ban on smartphones in schools across England
Two fathers have announced they are seeking a judicial review of government guidance as part of a campaign to get smartphone use banned in Orr-Ewing from Oxford and Pete Montgomery, who lives near Lancaster, have warned Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, in a letter on Friday, that they plan to take legal pair have said the current guidance, which allows headteachers to decide how smartphones are used, is unlawful and unsafe for Department of Education said schools already had the power to ban phones and it was bringing in "better protections" from harmful content through the Online Safety Act. The fathers have brought their claim under the name Generation Alpha believe the safest approach for children would be a complete ban on smartphones in Orr-Ewing said: "We know that when children use smartphones they usually don't do it in a safe said they were using the devices to access harmful "very violent or sexual" content or "they use it for cyberbullying".He added: "Parents have told us about boys being filmed naked in the PE changing rooms and then shared across the school."Meanwhile, he said girls were "being manipulated by predators on messaging platforms during lessons and in school toilets" and "tiny children" were being shown "graphic pornography" on the school bus by other children. The fathers said children should only have "brick phones" to communicate with parents if needed, but a ban on smartphones was a "no-brainer".The Department for Education (DfE) released its latest guidance around keeping children safe at school on acknowledged that some children might engage in bullying and sexual harassment, "share indecent images" and "view and share pornography and other harmful content" and said schools should "carefully consider how this is managed". Mr Montgomery said: "We made Freedom of Information requests to schools in England about safeguarding incidents related to smartphones and social media."One school passed 55 such incidents to social services in the last academic year, 17 of which were referred to the police."He added: "A statutory ban would be a huge relief for headteachers and parents alike."In a statement, the DfE said: "Schools already have the power to ban phones, and we support headteachers to take the necessary steps to prevent disruption, backed by our clear guidance on how to restrict their use..."We know there are wider issues with children's online experiences, which is why we are also bringing in better protections from harmful content through the Online Safety Act."It has 14 days to officially respond to the letter, after which point the claimants can issue judicial review proceedings. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.