Best Of

Ultimately neither Starmer or Hermer are going to do anything to recluse the ECHR or any other treaty as they are both human right lawyers who cannot imagine any challenge to the law, even though these laws are being questioned by many in Europe and not just on the right

It would go against everything Starmer has been trained to believe but ultimately it will be his downfall if he does not stop the boats

And I would just say to those arguing this is anti foreigner, it does not help your case as this is far from that but in most peoples eyes it is unfair and this is now even being expressed by Labour politicians who know they cannot make excuses anymore

Starmer is exactly the kind of person who could sell a revised refugee convention to a domestic and international audience. Generous, robust and sensible.

A bit like how the Conservatives did gay marriage.

You may be right but that would take years and he doesn't have years to stop the boats

And remarkably we are only a month away from Labour commencing their second year in office and owning their decisions

I don't think stopping the boats is possible - or at least not within a 5 year period. A significant reduction? Maybe.

But Labour can certainly make lots of cheap noise about it. Even a proposal would be valuable, particularly if they can challenge the French to sign up to it.

My plan to collapse the black economy would collapse demand.

- doesn’t depend on the French
- Breaks no law, international or national
- Fucks up the scum who exploit
- Offers the migrants justice against their abusers.
- self enforcing

How easy do you think that would be?

Doesn't it involve stopping pretty much all crime?

1) each instance of deliberately employing someone illegally is punishable by a £100k fine. This includes a number of crimes including visa sale
2) use the Proceeds of Crime laws to prevent hiding assets from liability behind ltd companies etc. So the houses of directors of a chain of companies could be seized. As they are for drugs.
3) half the fine goes to the person giving evidence, upon conviction.
4) if they don’t have full U.K. status, give the. Indefinite leave to remain.
5) legislation to prevent using contracting as a shield.

Quite simply, every person you are employing illegally has a £50k motive (and a visa) to report you.

The scale of the fines would make catching the employers *profitable* for the government.

Private prosecutions via ambulance chaser lawyers would be fun to add to the mix.

Well, at least it's a plan.

Until the entire shadow economy is ended, doesn't it give people quite the incentive to come to the UK? They don't even need to claim asylum. You might even get a deal where one of the asylum seekers is set up as the owner of the new car wash, and the other 50 shop them to the police.

Then again, given that the vast majority of people coming over on boats claim asylum, why would the lack of a shadow economy stop them?

It might ultimately make it more difficult for those that fail to get refugee status, who would hope to then disappear into the shadow economy. But wouldn't Labour's plan of moving deporting failed asylum seekers to a third country be a little quicker to implement?

A lot of people who are here as part of the asylum process get "lost" and slip into the black economy. If you remove that option, then there is only the legal asylum route.

If we then processed claims quickly, deported accordingly, and had acceptance rates similar to our peers, that would go a long way to sorting out the issue.

Generally speaking: lots of small things will tend to make more of an impact than one big thing. Unfortunately, politicians (and commentators) are all rather wedded to silver bullets (Rwanda, Fawklands, etc.).

I agree with all that.

From what we've seen so far, "small things" is hopefully the route that Labour are trying to go down.

I doubt they'll succeed enough to placate Farage, but you'd hope that crackdowns on the shadow economy, closer work with France, quicker deportations to third countries as soon a claim fails, quicker processing, moving away from hotels, etc., will gradually make some difference.

The sooner that the "most important" thing in the country isn't people crossing the channel in small boats, the better for our political discourse.

Labour have now had a year, more or less. And the numbers in the boats are going UP

So whatever it is they’re doing - SMASH THE GANGS - it ain’t working

Also the sneering on this site is quite unbearable. Any Brit worried about literally thousands of illegal invaders landing on our shores is a “frother”

Go fuck yourselves. This is why Labour will lose and deserve to lose. Humans have a very natural desire to see their homes and homelands not be invaded and trashed. This is not “frothing”

They've had less than 11 months. The main Border bill is still going through Parliament. You don't repair relationships with the French, and get them to change their laws overnight. Clearing a backlog takes a long time when you've already got delays in the courts. Only Trump can solve problems on day one

If your 'sneering' was aimed at my "most important" issue comment, then surely you'd agree that it would be better if we were discussing something other than a few tens of thousands of people crossing the channel each year? You may feel strongly about it, and that's fine, but it's not even a the major part of immigration to the UK. It's not as important to most people's lives as the NHS, or the economy, or even their local bin collections. There are plenty of other more important issues in most people's day to day lives.

I simply think you are wish casting on this

The boats is toxic for Labour who enter their second year in office in little over a month, and when you say a few thousands crossing the channel each and every one is putting their lives at risk and especially if they have children with them but also the crews of the RNLI whose job is to save lives at sea and who also have to recover the bodies of those including children from the waters

As you may know I have a personal interest in this as our son is a helm on our local lifeboat, and indeed was recently involved in an 8 hour overnight search for a young man who was recovered the following day after the efforts of the police spotterplane, the police underwater search teams, the coastguard and their helicopter and 3 lifeboats

Hermer's case history is an absolute shocker...

#Starmergeddon

https://x.com/ramonagusta/status/1929176823893475783?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

A future regime must properly investigate the likes of Hermer. Many lawyers work with our enemies to destroy the country and should be disbarred and/or jailed.

See my blog for the lawyers in London who work with *active terrorists on the run from JSOC* in Afghan/PAK and get paid MILLIONS by the UK government to do so!!!

The Cabinet Office has gone to great lengths to classify details, and keep legal cases secret, to hide the shocking truth and stop the ECHR role being exposed. With Hermer as AG, millions more of taxpayers money will be transferred to Range Rovers for lawyers in return for advancing the interests of terrorists

https://x.com/dominic2306/status/1929247165555015839?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

Infantile rubbish as usual.

Sir Keir simply must stop the boats. I have every confidence he can.

1) How?
2) Why?

I am surprised at how negative you are on this

I did ask you earlier what is Ed Davey's position on this and it would be far more helpful if you would suggest solutions rather than prevarication

How is multi facetted with some suggestions on here, but you ask why and to be honest maybe that shows your real attitude to the issue

Why is simply answered by it is not acceptable to the vast majority of voters in this county including Labour and maybe even Lib Dem supporters

I didn't see your comment earlier which is why I haven't answered. As I have said a few times, everyone wants the boat crossings to stop. We have a broadly positive view of migration because we know that our economy still relies on them.

I have suggested solutions - we need to work internationally to manage asylum, we need legal and safe routes to apply for asylum, and we need to actually process claims so that people aren't left in limbo for years. And where we have people sat waiting on a decision and they have skills we need, why aren't we letting them work? We've had examples of Syrian doctors sat festering for extended periods unable to work at the exact same time as we have shortages of staff.

But I am negative at the hopium / kill them all comments because they deserve to be negative.

Thank you for your response but the way immigration is presently perceived, it has to be reduced further than the recently reduced figure under Sunak of 431,000 though I agree that migrants should be allowed to work once they have made an application

However, we both know there are two immigration issues, legal and illegal, and the boats are a vivid example of illegal migration that is now in our media every day and is toxic for Starmer and labour

Of course we shouldn't be distracted by extreme views of sinking the boats etc, as this will not happen even if Reform were in government

Unfortunately, Starmer and Hermer are the wrong politicians at this time to resolve the issue, and I simply expect it to fester for a long time and not to labour's electoral advantage

Pochdale Rioneers is just beginning to understand that his party isn't even at the races on this issue, or frankly on much else that's gone wrong with the country. Sir Ed thinks being more Centrist Dad than Labour and then jumping in a pond is going to get them anywhere - No, it's not.

And yet we absolutely smashed it at the locals 😘

Reform = 677 councillors won in 2025
LDs = 370 councillors won in 2025

Con lost 674 seats
Lab lost 187 seats

It's a two horse race!

Rentoul on Jenrick’s fare dodger video

His video on Thursday, in which he intercepted fare-dodgers on the London Underground – “Do you want to go back and pay like everybody else?” – was the high point of his campaign so far. It was an instant classic in the art of the political stunt: simple, effective and watched by millions.

Personally, I thought he overdid the “country is going to the dogs” element. I think London is the best city in the world and the Tube network is great, but it does annoy me to see people take advantage of lax enforcement, tailgating or pushing through the barriers to travel without paying.

He struck a chord. He identified himself and his party with the message: the law-abiding majority shouldn’t pay for a rule-breaking minority.

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/robert-jenrick-faredodger-tfl-tube-b2761240.html

Sir Keir simply must stop the boats. I have every confidence he can.

1) How?
2) Why?

I am surprised at how negative you are on this

I did ask you earlier what is Ed Davey's position on this and it would be far more helpful if you would suggest solutions rather than prevarication

How is multi facetted with some suggestions on here, but you ask why and to be honest maybe that shows your real attitude to the issue

Why is simply answered by it is not acceptable to the vast majority of voters in this county including Labour and maybe even Lib Dem supporters

I didn't see your comment earlier which is why I haven't answered. As I have said a few times, everyone wants the boat crossings to stop. We have a broadly positive view of migration because we know that our economy still relies on them.

I have suggested solutions - we need to work internationally to manage asylum, we need legal and safe routes to apply for asylum, and we need to actually process claims so that people aren't left in limbo for years. And where we have people sat waiting on a decision and they have skills we need, why aren't we letting them work? We've had examples of Syrian doctors sat festering for extended periods unable to work at the exact same time as we have shortages of staff.

But I am negative at the hopium / kill them all comments because they deserve to be negative.

Thank you for your response but the way immigration is presently perceived, it has to be reduced further than the recently reduced figure under Sunak of 431,000 though I agree that migrants should be allowed to work once they have made an application

However, we both know there are two immigration issues, legal and illegal, and the boats are a vivid example of illegal migration that is now in our media every day and is toxic for Starmer and labour

Of course we shouldn't be distracted by extreme views of sinking the boats etc, as this will not happen even if Reform were in government

Unfortunately, Starmer and Hermer are the wrong politicians at this time to resolve the issue, and I simply expect it to fester for a long time and not to labour's electoral advantage

Pochdale Rioneers is just beginning to understand that his party isn't even at the races on this issue, or frankly on much else that's gone wrong with the country. Sir Ed thinks being more Centrist Dad than Labour and then jumping in a pond is going to get them anywhere - No, it's not.

And yet we absolutely smashed it at the locals 😘

Reform = 677 councillors won in 2025
LDs = 370 councillors won in 2025

Ultimately neither Starmer or Hermer are going to do anything to recluse the ECHR or any other treaty as they are both human right lawyers who cannot imagine any challenge to the law, even though these laws are being questioned by many in Europe and not just on the right

It would go against everything Starmer has been trained to believe but ultimately it will be his downfall if he does not stop the boats

And I would just say to those arguing this is anti foreigner, it does not help your case as this is far from that but in most peoples eyes it is unfair and this is now even being expressed by Labour politicians who know they cannot make excuses anymore

Starmer is exactly the kind of person who could sell a revised refugee convention to a domestic and international audience. Generous, robust and sensible.

A bit like how the Conservatives did gay marriage.

You may be right but that would take years and he doesn't have years to stop the boats

And remarkably we are only a month away from Labour commencing their second year in office and owning their decisions

I don't think stopping the boats is possible - or at least not within a 5 year period. A significant reduction? Maybe.

But Labour can certainly make lots of cheap noise about it. Even a proposal would be valuable, particularly if they can challenge the French to sign up to it.

My plan to collapse the black economy would collapse demand.

- doesn’t depend on the French
- Breaks no law, international or national
- Fucks up the scum who exploit
- Offers the migrants justice against their abusers.
- self enforcing

How easy do you think that would be?

Doesn't it involve stopping pretty much all crime?

1) each instance of deliberately employing someone illegally is punishable by a £100k fine. This includes a number of crimes including visa sale
2) use the Proceeds of Crime laws to prevent hiding assets from liability behind ltd companies etc. So the houses of directors of a chain of companies could be seized. As they are for drugs.
3) half the fine goes to the person giving evidence, upon conviction.
4) if they don’t have full U.K. status, give the. Indefinite leave to remain.
5) legislation to prevent using contracting as a shield.

Quite simply, every person you are employing illegally has a £50k motive (and a visa) to report you.

The scale of the fines would make catching the employers *profitable* for the government.

Private prosecutions via ambulance chaser lawyers would be fun to add to the mix.

A lot of British people will be unable to get jobs under your regime, because they will not be able to prove their right to work here within a £50,000 margin of error. I myself have faced this problem.

There is also a perverse incentive to report any suspicions at all, so the police will spend all their time checking every single delivery driver just in case the informant can cop a £50,000 reward.

I'm interested that you would gave faced such a problem.... Note that similar rules are in force at the moment, the fines are lower and there is no reward for reporting. Hence employers wanting photocopies of passports.

A relative runs a building company and does a background check on his employees. The UK ones present a passport. The non-UK present their passports and their visa/right to work documentation.

What would actually happen is that employing illegals would stop - simply not worth the risk.

Deliveroo might collapse or put up its prices by a factor of 3. What a shame.

The problem is that passports are the easiest way to proof right to work but getting a passport is complex if you don't already have your initial one..