2,000 migrants tried to enter channel tunnel last night!

atpbx · 29 Jul 2015 at 13:54

MichaelAwkward said:
Studies have shown that immigrants (not illegal immigrants, as beachBOYken's post was referring to the EU freedom of movement and therefore legal immigrants) have, overall, either a tiny net benefit or cost to the UK. The number of hardworking immigrants pay for the number of nonhardworking immigrants, effectively.

So effectively, pointless?

No cost/benefit either way economically?

So why bother with it?

koolpc · 29 Jul 2015 at 13:55

France i suppose cant stop them getting into their country. It would be so hard to stop them with all the countries bordering them. Round up all the people trying to get in and send them to Mars?

cheesyboy · 29 Jul 2015 at 13:58

scorza said:
So why haven't we improved our infrastructure to cope with that increase then?

Schools aren't built in the country - they're built in relatively tiny catchement areas. It's difficult to know exactly the population growth is going to occur.

Poor governance, pure and simple. And it suits the leadership to deflect the public away from that fact and instead blame the immigrants.

Birth statistics and child benefit claims give a pretty good picture as to where schools are needed.

Semple · 29 Jul 2015 at 13:58

atpbx said:
While there is still incentive (IE hope of once they get into the UK they will more than likely be able to live here) they will still come.

It needs to be no access on the other side, and if they somehow do get over they are exported straight back to France.

To stop the problem we have to make it clear there is nothing here for them, we wont be giving them shelter, food, money or jobs. Without a proper application processed from your country of origin you wont get in.

Agreed, the BBC wrote an article a few months back where they had interviewed a number of the immigrants at Calais about their reasons for heading to the UK. Responses such as "free housing", "free money", "free health" and "free education" were very popular responses. So I agree if we can change our policies to make it nigh on impossible for an immigrant to be able to claim these things, it'll make the country less appealing to get to. The problem again though, the EU will not allow us to change these policies.

Mark3h · 29 Jul 2015 at 14:10

Next time the EDL wants to hold one of their marches. Let them do it in Calais, could make a reality tv show out of it. We could all silently tut at how they are all racists and bigots, all while them keep people out for free.

Could call it "Not on my watch".

Cosimo · 29 Jul 2015 at 14:13

Delvis said:
I like the fact reporters just sit there and film. Chances are they probably didn't even alert the French police themselves.

Can't have a good story ruined by the police.

Mind you that lot probably would do anything at all.

koolpc · 29 Jul 2015 at 14:13

GB is known as a soft country. People think they can get here easily and get benefits etc easy. The government needs to change some policies and we have to toughen up as a nation. Too many openly flaunted human right laws! Break off from the EU too!

Sudden · 29 Jul 2015 at 14:16

koolpc said:
GB is known as a soft country. People think they can get here easily and get benefits etc easy. The government needs to change some policies and we have to toughen up as a nation. Too many openly flaunted human right laws! Break off from the EU too!

What policies do you want to change?

I've moved to UK from India. I've been here 10 years+ and still don't have access to any benefits etc. (other than NHS).

Conscript · 29 Jul 2015 at 14:23

Some shocking opinions in this thread. I really hope they are little more than typical Internet posturing.

atpbx said:
So effectively, pointless?

No cost/benefit either way economically?

So why bother with it?

Because people might want to move to another country?

Why not bother with it?

Tefal · 29 Jul 2015 at 14:32

peterwalkley said:
When both side are smart, compromise will happen. If one side is pig ignorant, it will be war. That's why I qualified what I said with "in general".

so when you said "in general" you actually meant "practically never in human history".

or are all the empire builders in our past not "smart" according to you?

MooMoo444 · 29 Jul 2015 at 14:50

Send the non-cute ones back

atpbx · 29 Jul 2015 at 14:51

Conscript said:
Some shocking opinions in this thread. I really hope they are little more than typical Internet posturing.

Because people might want to move to another country?

Why not bother with it?

Its a genuine question, I have no opinion on it.

If it offers no benefit to the country either way, then surely the only way to judge whether its worthwhile is in the amount of work it costs to enable it surely?

Jester* · 29 Jul 2015 at 15:00

Semple said:
The channel tunnel really needs some blast doors so it can be locked at night, as that's when the majority of these immigrants will plan to storm it.

Hahaha, the tunnel operates at almost 24/7 capacity with only a few hours of down time to facilitate maintenance in the tunnel.

Also you can never fully enclose the tunnel and access to it. Otherwise Eurostar trains would have a real problem getting onto the French main line!

FishFluff · 29 Jul 2015 at 15:02

scorza said:
So why haven't we improved our infrastructure to cope with that increase then?

Schools aren't built in the country - they're built in relatively tiny catchement areas. It's difficult to know exactly the population growth is going to occur.

Actually we (and by 'we' I mean local authorities and the Department for Education) know roughly where schools are needed. We know this as the immigrants that send their kids to school are here legally and so their children are accounted for when they enter the country or, more likely, when they're born here. Most school capacity planning is based on birth rates for an area. That gives around 4 years notice to knock some new schools up before any growth in birth rates affects schools. There's also the population estimates that the ONS publish on a fairly regular basis.

Whether the government actually bothers to fund/build schools is an entirely different matter. The country certainly hasn't been caught off guard by a surprise invasion of immigrant children though, I can assure you of that. It's been known about for some time now. Take a look at the ONS population estimates yourself.

koolpc · 29 Jul 2015 at 15:03

Set up anti immigration machine guns at the entrance to the tunnels?

Tefal · 29 Jul 2015 at 15:06

Jester* said:
Hahaha, the tunnel operates at almost 24/7 capacity with only a few hours of down time to facilitate maintenance in the tunnel.

Also you can never fully enclose the tunnel and access to it. Otherwise Eurostar trains would have a real problem getting onto the French main line!

only needs to open for the few minutes a train is going thorough

Freefaller · 29 Jul 2015 at 15:08

Xordium said:
Depends whether it was Freefaller or not.

ThundyCat · 29 Jul 2015 at 15:08

Send the army in and put them on a Hercules and take them back to their country of residence. Keep on doing it until they get the message.

Tefal · 29 Jul 2015 at 15:09

Freefaller said:

maybe he meant they'd care if it was you ?

but i doubt it

FortuitousFluke · 29 Jul 2015 at 15:10

atpbx said:
Its a genuine question, I have no opinion on it.

If it offers no benefit to the country either way, then surely the only way to judge whether its worthwhile is in the amount of work it costs to enable it surely?

If it provides neither negative nor positives for the Country, but greatly improves the individual in questions quality of life, is it worth enabling? It's a hypothetical really because I've not done enough reading to decide whether immigration provides a net gain or a net cost across all areas.