When Sir Keir Starmer swept into Downing Street in July last year, he told us he would “smash the gangs” and “stop the boats”. Fifteen months later, that promise lies in tatters. Almost 60,000 small boat migrants have crossed since the General Election – and just 42 have been returned to France under the so-called ‘one in, one out’ deal. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, we learned that one of the 42 returned to France has already made his way back.
At this rate, of 42 every 73 days (the time since Sir Keir Starmer agreed the deal with President Macron) we estimate it will take close to 300 years to remove just the migrants who have turned up on Sir Keir Starmer’s watch so far. So much for smashing the gangs. In reality, it is more a case of the gangs getting smashed on champagne in celebration.
And let’s not forget that even if by some miracle we managed to return all those who have come, we will have at least 60,000 to fend for, plus all the others who will have arrived.
He staked his legacy on a deal with France that has been exposed as totally unfit for purpose.
The public has had enough of fibs and bluster. This isn’t a complicated problem. The boats could be stopped in short order if the Government detained those arriving illegally, dealt with them quickly and returned them to France or to their countries of origin; failing that, to a safe third country like Rwanda.
But if no action is taken – as seems likely – and the current rate of crossings continues, we are on track to see some 200,000 migrants enter Britain via small boats before the next General Election in 2029.
While this farce continues, the gangs and human traffickers who profit from this sick trade are getting smashed on champagne, safe in the knowledge that Keir Starmer’s government has no plan and no stomach to take the action necessary to stop them.
If Sir Keir cares about his legacy, he must snap back to reality and bring in the tough measures needed to stop the boats.