We do control our own borders. The government has also just introduced new legislation, giving greater powers to tackle those trying to abuse the asylum system. However Reform, and the Conservatives apparently both voted against it.
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There is a process to follow. A process the tories gutted to allow them to demonise genuine people in need and open the door to criminals. So yeah you could argue that was by design.
And over that they allowed legal immigration to occur at record levels. They then branded it all under the same badge
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Yep, I know it’s complex, and there are many genuine refugees in need of help.
I just responded to the statement “of course we can stop people coming in illegally”.
Arriving into the UK without a visa or other permission based document is illegal.
Not if they’re claiming asylum? Didn’t the previous government try an Illegal Migration act to stop that, which didn’t really work out, because they had nowhere to send them back to?
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Unless, as pointed out, it is a plea for asylum.
The question is, how do you propose that actual breaches of immigration law are handled. It was proposed that there was a national ID card scheme in the early 2000s, which would have helped the authorities no end, but it was opposed by many people, a great number of which are those that constantly bang on about immigration (Farage included).
Part of the problem is that they aren’t even entirely sure how many people this covers. By definition, they are off the radar and it will include a large number of people who are suffering human rights abuses, up to and including slavery.
I suspect that as you said earlier, there is no will to prevent people being in the country illegally. After all, those that benefit from their presence are likely to be the wealthy, not the working classes.
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Yep.
Not a great system in place, and an even worse will to make any system work
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This is the problem right here. Reform and the Tories aren’t actually against immigration, because it would take away pretty much their only talking point right now.
Immigration, while as a topic generates concern, isn’t a problem that is facing the country, by and large. Illegal immigration, and I speak as an immigrant, is overwhelmingly generated from overstayers rather than people sneaking in, as it were.
I think people who think immigration is a problem ought to go through the byzantine system for themselves to understand how hard it actually is. Instead of reading the Daily Heil.
Immigration is a red herring for the rich to rob you blind.
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CCS. Is starting to have the whiff of nuclear fusion - a technology that is perpetually ten years away.
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Reading the above, I wonder, looking in from the outside: why are the Greens always immediately dismissed as a non-viable solution, seemingly by everyone? Are they that bad?
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It’s partly the FPTP system that makes it hard for them to build up enough momentum - and as @cynicaloldgit would tell you media bias as In prior elections i think their share of the vote was higher than that of Reform’s, they had an MP and yet it was Farage and co on Question Time etc every week, while they hardly got a look in.
Interestingly, last election they won another seat or two as more ex labour voters supported them.
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Absolutely bang on.
Immigration is the way Reform convince people to punch themselves in the face.
People in Runcorn might be struggling, but they will struggle a lot fucking more without an NHS to fall back on, or Employment Rights, or an industrial strategy.
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Well the red wall has been completely demolished again. Losing 30 seats and now just 4 councillors for Labour in Durham is truly astonishing.
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Which is further proof that “Labour” should be distancing themselves from Reform, not imitating it.
Unfortunately, Starmer and his chums are too fucking stupid to recognise what is actually staring them in the face.
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No but you see they were so successful so we need to copy more from them!
It’s such reductive “thinking”.
EDIT:
Source: English local elections live: Starmer and Badenoch downbeat as Reform continues success with council victories | Politics | The Guardian
Your move, Starmer. Let’s see the actions to back up those words.
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So far he has done exactly the opposite of that.
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They’re not imitating Reform, certainly not at the national lwvel.
So what has he done since 11.35 this morning that is the opposite?
Meant that as a general commentary on his government being a clear break from Tories.
Hmmmmm. 
They’re certainly steering more towards a rightwing agenda than a traditional Labour one.
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Not if you claim asylum.
Then if your claim is found to be fraudulent you can be deported. If it’s upheld you can stay.
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