Matt, this sounds dramatic, but it muddles together elections, government policy, operational decisions, humanitarian responses and things governments are actually trying to prevent.
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Britain is a representative democracy.
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We do not hold a national referendum on every individual government decision.
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Nobody “voted for asylum hotels” as a standalone proposition.
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But they were already being used under the Conservative government in 2020 because the state has legal responsibilities towards destitute asylum seekers while claims are considered.
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Nobody specifically “voted for Afghans” either.
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But Boris Johnson, as Prime Minister of an elected Conservative government, personally announced the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme in August 2021, initially committing Britain to 5,000 people and potentially 20,000 over time following the Taliban takeover.
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Then there is your “Boriswave”.
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The post-Brexit points-based immigration system was not secretly imposed by an unelected administration.
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It was introduced by Boris Johnson’s Conservative government.
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That government said the new system would reduce overall migration.
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What subsequently happened was that migration rose dramatically, partly because of decisions taken by that same elected government about work, study and care-sector migration.
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You can quite reasonably argue that the outcome departed substantially from what voters expected.
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But that is a failure of policy, prediction or delivery.
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It is not evidence that democracy ceased to operate.
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Small boats are an even stranger inclusion.
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Who exactly is supposed to have a policy of encouraging uncontrolled Channel crossings?
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Successive Conservative and Labour governments have explicitly tried to stop them.
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You may believe they have failed, used the wrong policies or not gone far enough.
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That is a perfectly legitimate argument.
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But an unwanted phenomenon continuing despite government attempts to prevent it is not the same thing as government “imposing” it on the population.
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And “210,000 illegals” needs rather more care too.
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That is essentially a cumulative figure for people detected arriving by small boat since 2018.
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It is NOT a count of 210,000 people currently proven to be living illegally in Britain.
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Most small-boat arrivals claim asylum. Some are subsequently granted protection, some are refused, some appeal and some are returned.
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The Home Office itself says it cannot tell us the exact number of people currently living in the UK without permission.
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Then there is Andy Burnham.
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Very few people directly “voted for Burnham” to become Prime Minister because British voters do not directly elect Prime Ministers.
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They never have.
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A parliamentary party can change leader between general elections, and the monarch appoints the person able to command the confidence of the House of Commons.
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That constitutional mechanism did not suddenly become illegitimate in July 2026.
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It was the same system under which Britain acquired Prime Ministers including Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak between general elections.
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You can make a serious democratic argument that governments should remain closer to the promises on which they were elected.
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You can argue that immigration policy has repeatedly failed to reflect public expectations.
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Those are legitimate arguments.
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But “nobody voted specifically for every event that subsequently happened, therefore democracy is being undermined” does not follow.
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Representative government has never worked that way.
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Facts first, then by all means debate whether those elected governments made the right decisions.
@Nigel_Farage It's funny how many billionaires who don't even live in the UK seem to want us to vote for you. I guarantee neither you or they have any interest in ordinary working British people. It's just about enriching yourselves
@Nigel_Farage You promise to fix everything yet you have no workable plans. Add to that the crypto millions and people are finally seeing through you. Your only interest is lining your own pockets.
@Nigel_Farage Yawn. The £5mill man, falling rapidly in the polls, recycles a tired old soundbite. This was already looked at by the Tories and proved to be unworkable. That means behind all the bluster and bullshit you don't even have a plan! At least Labour have reduced the numbers
@BarryTownUnited Yeah, I was there with my Dad. Sat in the temporary stand at the Barry Rd end. I think it rained non-stop and we were absolutely soaked. Brilliant game though. Up there with the Reading game at Jenner.
@PaulEmbery "Trade unionist" "Blue Labour". Nothing you ever come out with aligns with anything I associate with either the trade union or Labour movements. You belong with Reform or Restore UK. WTF does "asymmetric multiculturalism" even mean?
There was a time when Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour was earning so much money that he described the amount as “obscene.” He recalled how he would spend his mornings writing checks to charities, simply trying to find a meaningful way to use his enormous wealth. But one day, he decided to go even further. After selling his London home for £4.5 million, Gilmour donated the entire proceeds to Crisis, a charity helping homeless people. “I don’t need that money, and I just thought it would be the right thing to do,” he modestly explained.
Reflecting on life with his characteristic wisdom, Gilmour spoke about the simplicity he had come to value: “You start collecting Ferraris, then you have to buy buildings to put them in, and then you have to employ people to look after the people who look after all your possessions. Life becomes very complicated. And at some point — at least, that’s what happened to me — you find yourself thinking, ‘I don’t need any of this.’ And suddenly, life becomes simpler.”
@keiranpedley@Ipsos_in_the_UK Obviously not, and it's about time the media stopped acting as if it's even a possibility. The anti Reform tactical vote will mean they max out at 40-50 seats, and that's only if Farage sticks around which is unlikely.
@charlieparrish There's only one call left to make (assuming Pep won't come). They should have brought Poch back several times before. I firmly believe he'll be back before the end of the season.
@MikeTappTweets@RoryStewartUK It's a problem for us, not them, so why would they want to? If you want to "stop the boats" you have to have a viable alternative for people to make asylum claims without coming across. Have a strict limit and deny anyone who crosses automatically.