Migrant hotels scandal: Brexit voters fury with Tories over immigration

this is the biggest issue in British politics it dominates everything it is clearly grossly unfair more than 40 000 people have entered the youth via small boats this year most housed in hotels across the country both legal and illegal immigration is at record levels and after repeated promises to bring numbers down the conservatives are under increasing political pressure to act I totally understand why people are really frustrated with that I'm very very frustrated with that my name is Stephen Edgington and I'm the telegraphs video comment editor in this film I'll be traveling to various migrant hotels to investigate one of the most critical issues facing Britain they're very promising immigration we've stopped and and we haven't lived up to it happening I began in maidenhead where I met Nigel farage the politician who has done more than any other in campaigning against uncontrolled immigration we're outside in maidenhead a hotel that is being used to house migrants and refugees this is something that you've been reported on and talking about for a long time do you think that there is any legitimate refugees coming to Britain that we should be taking in we should have some compassion for well the 1951 Declaration on refugees which which defined really what a refugee was I'm going to repeat that 1951. it was drawn up in the wake of the Holocaust and with the memory of what had happened to French huguenotes I mean basically it was those in fear of their lives that definition now seems to be broadened to economic migrants people who come from war-torn countries people who come from places that aren't quite as nice as here we are in maidenhead Theresa May's very middle class constituency so do these people qualify as genuine refugees I'd have thought in truth hardly any there'll probably be some and if there may well be some genuine people but if they are I don't think it's acceptable at all to allow an illegal route via criminal gang across the English Channel to be the way this is one of now over 300 across the country and there may not be as much resentment in maidenhead as there is in Sunderland but let me tell you you know with over a million people on the social housing waiting list with the virtual impossibility of getting a GP appointment I would not even try to get NHS dentists these guys have got free Dental Care Free Medical Care not worried about heating bills you know three Square meals a day 38 quid a week spending money it's a joke this is the biggest issue in British politics it dominates everything it is clearly grossly unfair to virtually everybody else let alone our own ex-veterans two and a half thousand of whom are sleeping rough on the streets so we've been walked all over and if the conservative party isn't the party that actually believes in borders and honoring what people thought they were voting for in brexit then frankly what are they for let's talk about the political consequences of this crisis where is this heading what's going to happen in the future if this continues as it is the conservatives will lose every single red wall seat every single red wool seat you know those voters those voters that gave Johnson the 80 seat majority these were brexiteers they were YouTubers you know I was the gateway drug to support that Tory majority and for them their primary reason of voting for brexit was we wanted to take back control of our borders and what we see firstly with legal immigration being at levels that nobody could even imagine but the illegal the cross-channel trade you know frankly is an insult to those people so for the conservatives it's catastrophic I'm not suggesting for one moment that labor would be any better I don't think they would they'd be pretty much the same but yes I think a large stay-at-home vote and a lot of people who had switched to the conservatives probably going back to labor again and then we've got the outside force you know are we going to see as we did really 10 years ago when the ukip Insurgency took off is reform UK gonna launch another Insurgency I want to tell you what I just saw the Yuga polling this morning it's up to nine percent I I think this is just the beginning I think we are on the verge of another Insurgency it's not just in the south of England that migrants have been sent to hotels across the country hundreds of hotels have been booked out to the cost of almost 7 million pounds per day in taxpayers money to house those who are claiming Asylum I went to crew in the north of England where three hotels are being used for migrants Phil can you explain what's going on right now I can try yeah um so yeah we've got a refugee drop in so we started this about four years ago um so we basically just open up once a week for any of the guys who are in the in the local hotels but also local houses so some are housed here in Crewe so we provide uh clothes food coffee someone to talk to have you seen a big uptick in people coming to crew the first hotel opened about 18 months ago the second one opened about a year ago maybe not quite a year nine months ago and and another one's just opened so yeah because of that yeah our numbers used to be four or five every week and now we're 80 to 100. where are you from I'm from Iraq and how long have you been here it's going to be three years I am here uh in UK and still I am waiting for the decision on that they may decide by the home office and still not any news from them why did you come to the UK because of the situation in Iraq so we have many troubles there we have many minutiae groups there why did you come to the UK specifically because a lot of people they get to France so they get to other European countries and then they go on small boats to the UK they could you know there's no war in France they could have stayed in France or in other European countries why did you come to the UK it's it's not sometimes it's not your situation it's not your decision to go to that country you want because when you're coming out from your country you cannot come by yourself so uh most of the time there's some Smugglers that they will take you to those country they want and so the smuggle is decided when you go out from your country you are going to a different country different culture so you don't know anything about them so you will be like a slave for that Smugglers and they will take you when they won't and sometimes they will try to take you away to get more money did you come here on a boat on a small boat yeah yeah I came from robot from college to here yeah why didn't you stay in France what was it what was it about the UK that was why why did you come to the UK foreign to find out what locals thought about the migrant hotels I went to the High Street so we're here in crew because there are three hotels being used to house migrants and refugees what do you think about that issue grateful absolutely Dreadful you've got men there young men fighting age who are the wives and children did you vote for brexit yeah yeah I did don't worry you don't have to be embarrassed no God I wish I hadn't well I don't know it's open now isn't it the gates are open in terms of immigration yeah yeah so I wish I hadn't what do you think about these hotels um to be honest I think it's disgusting um it's like a hotel in Torbay where the young couple in there uh were given 24 hours to vacate and the guests that had already paid to to move in um I think it's I think I think the country's ruined now did you vote for brexit I did vote Yes because I that's the only reason I voted for it is because of the um migrant situation I just know that this country is getting so full and um everyone's suffering because of it you know the waiting lists on the National Health um it's just not enough decent housing think of Labor got in I am labor but I think if labor did get in um I don't think they could do any better not with this immigration so so that hotel as I mentioned that hotel there is being used to house refugees and migrants who have come along so there's obviously a bit of controversy about that what do you make of that I think we should go somewhere you know and uh if the hotel isn't booked we're other people it should be used what do you think I don't agree you disagree I disagree yes a lot of these people are coming from war zones are coming from countries like that what do you I mean maybe we have to help them I don't know yes well War zones yes that they they need help but everybody's to their own opinion and you know today from Albania where they're into war on they shouldn't be allowed in the country really you know the immigration should be speeded up so the refers to say three weeks and assassin and if they aren't illegal they should send them back you know do you think the Tories have handled immigration well no no no no no no no very promising immigration we've stopped and and we haven't lived up to each other these people have to be somewhere you know you can't refer to not come across in that house them or put them up I mean these hotels I don't know what they're charging them or anything but I think that these police people need a place do you think the Tories have handled immigration well uh in a word no no Taurus I've done anything that can spell immigration never mind athlete of course we want to provide for the people in need yeah I mean like there's always someone that needs somewhere to stay so I think it's helpful it's a nice thing to do for you know what's it called the council but yeah do you feel that immigration levels are too high or yeah they are massively I just I I do think that with us leaving brexit I thought it was going to be like a decrease in Immigration like but you know there is still Rising numbers in it but do you trust the tourists to decrease immigration no absolutely no there's they they can try and do something but nothing will happen and that's the the truth of it really and it's they can give us all these promises but yet again we're not actually being fulfilled so in 2019 the conservatives won crew from labor as a part of the so-called red wall of seats I caught up with the local MP Kieran Mullen to discuss what he thought of the immigration crisis so obviously we've got record levels of immigration at the moment so half a million came in last year uh 40 000 people coming in in small boats which is the highest it's ever been you know up from 300 only just a few years ago do you think that brexit voters appreciate that I mean you know we've spoken to a lot of people on crew today who said that they want lower numbers yeah I you've got to unpick those big numbers because there's more to it a huge amount of the extra actually has come from the programs to do with the Ukraine Afghanistan Hong Kong which I think most people would think were the right thing for us to do but it comes to Asylum Seekers and there's more Boat Crossings I totally understand why people are really frustrated with that I'm very very frustrated with that it's partly a problem of a huge increase in the last few years which means that actually you know the home office at the same time is having to deal with all the stuff to do with Ukraine and have to deal with the Hong Kong issue and the Afghanistan issue has had to deal with a big increase in people making that Crossing we've made changes to the law we are pushing this where we can in Parliament I want it to move more quickly I think my constituents want it to move more quickly I think most MPS want it to move more quickly but it's not going to be an overnight fix you guys have been in power for 12 years now what do you say to the people say well this is on you this has happened under your watch you guys and the numbers are only going up to record levels yeah so I've explained that some of the increase we're seeing recently is to do with changing how people are trying to get into this country so I think that's made the whole problem of 10 times more visible to the government and to the rest of us some of the short-term challenges we've faced again are related to things that really outside of our control uh Ukraine Hong Kong Afghanistan you know these are things these are very recent events that put a huge strain on the system that are not for us to have not have happened we had to respond to those and then of course covert too it just means that the attention of the government on this issue has been spread pretty thin for for understandable reasons the other people labor you know they they very recently were campaigning for free movement kirstan's been a champion of free movement they've opposed every single law change that we've made in the Commons to help make this easier I doubt they're going to support us if we need to go even further which I know the government's willing to do do you really think people voted to leave the EU for higher immigration I know you say people want control I mean we've spoken to a lot of people and crew today in in the Town Center so well actually we wanted lower numbers it is about numbers and it's about services and it's about housing and it's about all of these other and Community cohesion and things like this so do people really vote for brexit for higher immigration I think people vote for brexit for a whole mix of reasons uh for me it was about getting control of these issues and look at this debate we're having now because it's back under our control that's that's actually to me was the most important thing that we got the democratic system in our country to be leading on this issue and the tour is at every election I think since about 1979 have been promising to get control of our borders to lower immigration at tens of thousands was the promise from David Cameron obviously again you guys have been in power for 12 years we've seen massive levels of immigration hundreds of thousands coming in every single year so why should voters trust you in 2024 in the next general election to get control of our borders and to actually decrease numbers but the number one thing that was an obstacle to that was being part of the EU and we delivered that so you know that we have to remember that you know there was a huge risk that wasn't going to be delivered and all of this discussion we're having would be completely redundant if we were still part of free movement which labor party in case armor campaigned for you know because time I've got elected as leader of the labor party on a pledge to battle for free movement so we delivered that for people which means that we are for the first time really in a position to do that and so I think people should should take a lot from that even if we haven't been able to get the outcome they want as quickly as they would have wanted and I understand why they're frustrated I'm I am frustrated too as as I've said but we delivered the number one change that was at risk uh to allow us to actually take control of our our borders opinion polls are categorical in showing that the British public believes current immigration levels are too high brexit was not about controlling our borders so we could allow record levels of both legal and illegal migration until the conservatives understand this the threat of an electoral Insurgency from the rights may prove destructive at the next general election

Channel: The Telegraph

Views: 680,913

Keywords: Telegraph, News, migrant hotels, united kingdom, news, england, great britain, migrants, immigration, migrant, migration, migrant crisis, asylum seekers, english channel, nigel farage migrant hotels, uk news, nigel farage, brexit, boris johnson, priti patel, nigel farage brexit, nigel farage interview, uk, politics, rishi sunak, brexit news, europe, referendum, conservatives, farage, suella braverman, home secretary, suella braverman news, suella braverman immigration, braverman

Id: e7pvPa-JpOw

Length: 15min 59sec (959 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 09 2022