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| Illegal Migration Under Tories and Labour in 2024 |
An exclusive analysis by Southampton Independents has shown that Keir Starmer's Labour Government is even worse at preventing illegal migration than "Southampton boy" Rishi Sunak's Tory Government's disastrous failure to "stop the boats".
Far from "smashing the gangs" that Starmer repeatedly promised before July's General Election, official Government figures that we have analysed show that the number of illegal migrants that have arrived during the Labour Government has now topped 17,000 in just four months, from 5th July to 27th October 2024.
This far exceeds the 13,574 recorded under Sunak in six months from 1st January to 4th July 2024.
Having plummeted in his approval ratings to be the most unpopular Prime Minister in record time, and with Labour losing the recent Shirley by-election and more by-elections across England and Scotland, Starmer and his hapless Home Secretary Yvette Cooper now appear to be in panic mode.
Starmer has met with "far right" Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, seemingly to get advice on how to deal with illegal migration, which Labour has pathetically rebranded "irregular" migration.
Now the Prime Minister is due to make some new announcements and form new units, in what seems to be a pattern of behaviour of creating units, adding bureaucracy, writing strategies and making public relations announcements that make no difference, yet at the same time declaring "no more gimmicks".
Co-founder of Southampton Independents Andrew Pope, who stood in the recent Shirley by-election as an Independent candidate, says:
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| Andrew Pope |
"When I stood in the recent Shirley Council by-election, I asked residents what was concerning them. Some residents told me on their doorsteps that they want to know when the boats will be stopped and when our borders will be brought under control.
Residents are concerned about the impact of illegal migration and the out-of-control legal migration on Southampton and our housing, our jobs, our education system, on social care and NHS, and on social integration and cohesion.
They were already concerned before the EU Referendum, when our borders were supposedly to be brought under control - another failure of the Tories.
But now, the impact of migration is bigger... much bigger. It's too much and it's too fast.
I pointed out to those residents that controlled migration can have a positive impact on all of those things, if Government gets a grip and a measure of balance, and communities are given time to adjust. But clearly, that isn't the case.
The Labour-run Council is no help on this issue either.
My investigation and report has shown that just weeks after the General Election, the Labour councillors that run the Council abandoned its 2014 policy of Southampton council housing for Southampton people.
Now they are allowing people who live outside Southampton to get on the waiting list. Officers said they don't even have any record of having rejected any applications from people who did not live in the City.
I fought for the "local connection" policy of a minimum 3 year residency when I was still in the Labour Administration back then. I put it in the Labour Council Manifesto.
Apparently the policy was brought in in 2014 - Council officers confirmed this with copies of the policy - but it has been abandoned at some point during the last ten years. Exactly when is not clear.
I've written to the Housing Cabinet Member Councillor Andy Frampton about the Council's response to my Freedom of Information request, but have received no answer in a fortnight. You would think he would be able to explain.
The Leader of the "opposition" Tories Councillor Peter Baillie has also not replied when I asked him whether he supports the Labour abandonment of the policy.
Local people agreed with me in my conversations with them that on illegal and legal migration, in Government and at the Council, it's another case of Labour or Tory, same old story.
That's why Labour is losing elections across the country and why the Tories have had to elect yet another new Leader after losing the General Election.
Trust and confidence in Government will continue to go down unless these Westminster parties start to control our borders and restore some sense of harmony and balance to society, and to halt the continuing immigration chaos and panic.
Migration can be a positive force but at the moment it is totally out of control."
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