I have so many ideas on potential posts on this blog: Gaza, for example, and the wickedness (I use that word deliberately) therein that the Western world has perpetuated on its people. And why do we never mention the West Bank where horrible acts against the Palestinians are just routine? Then Ukraine and the whims of that President that resides in the People’s House, now being desecrated with exterior and interior design that is the epitome of bad taste.
Lately I have been thinking of something nearer home – How hate is acoming. This is because I’ve always felt none of the awful racism that occurs over the pond could possibly infiltrate our shores, nor could the damage to democracy and the US constitution being done in the States be replicated here. I am not so sure now, as the little (only 5 MPs) right-wing party that is Reform begins to take a grip on the consciousness of so many in the UK, and wins votes, by-elections and councils. Not that they are doing a good job with these councils. Their inexperience shows as they fail to do a DOGE, and instead, have to get to grips with their statutory responsibilities and find nothing they can cut, so are putting up Council Tax with reduced services. Well, that will make them no end of good will (British irony here). And yet, they are always on the media haranguing the government on ‘immigrants’ and declaring that our way of life is being destroyed by these, funnily enough, usually brown, people.
And that idea is being touted now by the more mainstream, but possibly on its last legs party, the Conservative party. In October of this year the Conservative MP Katie Lam called for the deportation of a ‘large number of legally settled families’ to make the UK more ‘culturally coherent.’ Note the ‘legally settled’. And apparently the party leader’s (Kemi Badenoch, but maybe not for long) office later stated that Lam’s comments were ‘broadly in line’ with party policy.
How utterly, utterly disgraceful. Think of that – legal immigrants removed? I hope neither of them ever have to go to A&E, where you will find a wonderful multi-cultural melange of every nationality dealing with our damaged bodies. And maybe they could just think about what they are saying while they are treated with dignity by health professionals with absolutely every colour of skin you could possibly think of (well, that’s my experience anyway).
Mind you, the Conservatives are desperate and will say anything to hang on to the notion that they matter. Not so Reform. Their mouths are where their souls are, and they are nasty vicious rather low-calibre vipers, that have begun to get a real grip on British culture.
And of course, our own Prime Minister, having rather gathered the way the wind is blowing, said in speech that he didn’t want us to be ‘an island of strangers’. He backtracked on that, after the furore that erupted from his own party, and apologised.
But he said it.
The thing is I begin writing and then it peters out as life gets in the way. But this time I shall write a brief post mainly un-researched, with my initial thoughts on a recent report from the home affairs select committee, which accuses the Home Office of wasting potentially billions of tax-payers’ money on a 10-year contract with 3 providers to house asylum seekers in private rented properties, and, crucially, hotels.
And what has spurred me on to do this?
Well. There it was on BBC breakfast 2 mornings ago. The report was about the waste of money of a 10-yr contract with 3 providers of accommodation (these are the usual suspects) signed, of course, by the Conservatives. Who so obviously took their eyes of the reality of the many boats coming to our shores (see STATS below) and wasted a humungous amount of time on an unreal and unreasonable crack-pot idea to ship them off to – Ruanda! What! The cost of that idea was mind-boggling and naturally hasn’t worked.
No, it wasn’t that that spurred me on to write this. No, it was the sight of the probably quite admirable idea (irony) that the Labour Party has cooked up (in a room I expect with a white board and markers and some young bods who’ve never had to worry about their citizenship, or worse, death from the Taliban) that hotel accommodation will be abolished sometime soon, and migrants who enter without papers and claim asylum will be housed in old army barracks.
And there they were, an overhead shot showed us the huts (I totally get it that army personnel once lived in these huts). But there they were. Rows of long, one-story huts. And where has one seen huts like that before?
Oh no, you say, no, no, not that. Those huts, they housed squaddies. They’re fine for the likes of those asylum seekers, I mean, where else should they go?
OK. Fine.
But let’s think about it. We are going to be putting, herding, ‘concentrating’, certain people, very much ‘othered’ by quite a few of our population into ‘camps’. What will their conditions be? What food? What laundry facitilites? What care for their souls, their beings, their lives, their sanity? And what will this cost us taxpayers? Because this ‘solution’ is not cost free. Do we care? Should we?
I think we should.
But first, some stats. Source: Refugee Council
HOW MANY REFUGEES WORLDWIDE?
- At the end of 2021 around 89.3 million people were forcibly displaced across the world.
- Of these 27.1 million were refugees, while 53.2 million were internally displaced within their country of origin.
- 72% of the world’s refugees are living in countries neighbouring their country of origin. Turkey is the biggest refugee hosting country in the world
- The UK is home to approximately 1% of these refugees
ASYLUM
- People seeking asylum are seeking safety
- 41% displaced people across the world are children
- The 1951 Refugee Convention guarantees everybody the right to apply for asylum. It has saved millions of lives. No country has ever withdrawn from it.
- According to international law there is no such thing as an ‘illegal’ or ‘bogus’ person seeking asylum.
- Anyone has the right to apply for asylum in any country that has signed the 1951 Convention and to remain until the authorities have assessed their claim.
- It is recognised in the 1951 Convention that people fleeing persecution may have to use irregular means in order to escape and claim asylum in another country.
- There is no legal way to travel to the UK for the specific purpose of seeking asylum.
- But once here the majority of asylum claims are successful
- While waiting for their claims to be assessed asylum seekers are not permitted to work but are granted £7 a day
‘ILLEGAL’ MIGRANTS IN THE UK
Over and over again various bodies, organisations and research centres say it is almost impossible to verify exact numbers of illegal migrants there are in the UK. One report, I read was entirely about methods of estimating these numbers concluding that it was impossible to say exactly how many illegal migrants there are.
The best I can do is to tell you that, in 2025 the BBC reported that an estimated 49,000 entered the UK illegally in the 12 months between July 24 and June 25. This figure accounted for about 5% of the total 948,000 people who legally immigrated to the UK during that time.
THE MESS OF ASYLUM SEEKING HERE IN THE UK
I’ll make this short as I can.
The thing is it takes months and months, and sometimes years for some of the asylum claims to be assessed. Meanwhile, these people (because they are people) cannot work and are warehoused into grubby housing, predominantly dilapidated hotels, in rather run-down areas. And local people are exceedingly unhappy about this and sadly, increasingly so, since one of these thousands of applicants was accused, tried and convicted for sexual assault on a 14-yr-old girl. (I’ve got something to say about that – see below). A huge mix-up then occurred and he was let out of prison almost days later. He has now been deported, not sure where. But the blood lust is up. And all asylum seekers are more likely now to be seen as, well, I don’t know what, certainly not as potential A&E doctors, no, they are considered beyond the pale. And have to be chucked out, or else, says Reform.
Look, I don’t know where the nearest hotel for asylum seekers is. There isn’t one in or near leafy Lewes. So I could be accused of living in an ivory tower, what do I know? I get that. But these people are not treated well here. They’re in limbo. And the stupidity of not letting them work is beyond my understanding. Why let them rot for months and months in these hotels when they could be paying tax and NI? And that, of course, is why so many go under the radar and are part of the uncountable illegal migrants who do work and pay their taxes. It’s crazy.
THE MOST stupid part of it all is there is no legal route to the UK for these desperate people. These are not the students, the nurses, the other professionals that are needed in the UK, they have escaped oppression and war. So, of course, they cross in small boats. These are rib boats btw, and the English Channel is a dangerous place. Have you seen them? They travel with one leg outside. So unsafe.
But why isn’t there a place in France for people to get their visas and papers and be told, yes, you can come to the UK because you have relatives here. Yes, you can come here because we employed you in Afghanistan and are therefore in danger, or were a prominent woman judge. And so on? And you, sorry, no. And these, if they then came by boat would have to be deported. That would be so much clearer.
Meanwhile, both the Conservative party and now the Labour party are obsessed with the gangs who transport these victims. Yes, absolutely, these people who take a humungous amount of money from each illegal migrant to cross in lethally small and unsafe boats are ghastly parasites to be condemned and hounded. But get one gang and another will pop up.
Can’t these politicians think outside the box. Starting with – why do people come on small boats? What are their circumstances? What is the context of their wish to come here? What part did we as a nation play in the world of displaced peoples. A lot, I’d say, but that is not the way politicians think. And that is a bl…..ding shame.
And then once here, what do we do with these, sometimes, bewildered migrants? I mean the cultural differences must be huge for some of them. Do we care at all? Not really, until that is a hotel opens up in your town, and then it’s wowao, not here please.
I’m just going to say something about the case above. There will always be one or two bad guys amongst the thousands that come here. But. And here I am not in any way condoning what was done by this man, and if was my 14-yr-old I’d be beside myself. Feel free to be astounded that I am kind of trying to understand.
But. Having lived in Ditchling, a very, very leafy little village in East Sussex, there was a television documentary about the Afghan cricket team touring the UK and their life during that time, including coming to Ditchling. Think this is why it’s stuck in my mind. One member of the team refused all offers of entertainment and hospitality and never came out of his room apart from playing cricket. He was asked why, and he replied, “I cannot, the women here are not dressed. I cannot be with them, I cannot look at them.” I mean let’s think about that. What a cultural shock it must be to see how women dress in the Western world as opposed to the way women have to dress in Afghanistan.
So, what do we do? We herd a lot of men into a dilapidated hotel, keep them there for months and don’t allow them to live a normal life, let alone work.
Just saying. Please feel free to disagree.
Did anyone watch our national treasure, Miriam Margolyes and her documentary on New Zealand? On one encounter she went to a Refugee hub where 1500 refugees at a time live for around a year. Here they had an introduction to Western and New Zealand culture, and just generally getting to know how to live in New Zealand. I mean what a revelation that was, how generous and loving the New Zealanders were to these people. What a contrast to the way we treat our refugees. Yes, it was a small number but, there was something about the New Zealanders attitude that was very admirable and – one to aspire to.
So, what to do?
The number of displaced peoples in this world is likely to go up, especially with Climate Change. My grandchildren’s generation will have to deal with whole countries emptying for reasons of heat, let alone wars. It is an international problem and should be treated as one, rather than this little country of ours putting up the barriers – rather pathetically too.
Of course, smash the gangs. But that is easily said. Why is assessment for asylum to the UK not occurring in France. Someone explain to me, why that is not done? What is needed are legal routes to the UK for refugees from war and famine. Sadly there is a lot of froth and foaming at the mouth about ‘migrants’. We should be better than this.
And I don’t like those huts.
We have to be aware and notice situations. Because, the huts are just one continuous step to ‘othering’ and treating a people worse and worse and worse. It needs to stop before….
Penny Kocher 29 October 2025
Wow Penny! Such a passionate and well researched piece with which I am completely in agreement.
Yes, climate change will really up the ante in future years and add to the problem of displaced peoples worldwide and its not too far off in my opinion. Hopefully it will focus minds somewhat.
This subject raises so many issues and I need to re-read your article again to let it all sink in.
Thank you so much for highlighting it in such a clear and well written way.
Tina
Thank you for those kind words about this piece of writing. Oh my word how Climate Change will force people out of the tropical areas. But our elders and betters (?) just don’t think that far ahead.
Basically I felt compelled to write this, as I think mostly migrants are out of sight out of mind. When they are not housed anywhere near us, that is, we just don’t think about them. But those huts – for me that is a step that has to be noted and noticed. What are we doing? Is what we should be saying.
Thanks again Tina
Thank you Penny for writing this article . Think maybe submit it to a newspaper under opinion and hope gets more readership as your view point is spot on ? See no stranger is a book by Valerie Kaur which I have started and talks about love for our fellow humans.
Thanks so much Yok for that suggestion. Thing is I shall say to any readers do pass this on to sceptics and people who are very much against the whole migrant issue, also I will be telling the larger audience I have on Conversations…but as to passing it to a newspaper – I feel that is rather above my pay grade!!! I have put it on Facebook and am considering Substack. But X and BlueSky no, not into those places as rather scared of the reactions. Sorry to be a bit of a wuss – but do feel free to pass this on to whoever. That I do not mind.
Thanks again Yok
Thank you for speaking sense Penny. So many people around where I live, seem to be convinced that all illegal immigrants are terrorists, thugs or rapists who are going to be housed in the many brand new homes the government wants to build near to us. The people who say this are intelligent, nice and some I have been friends with for many years. There was an article on BBC in depth recently where they interviewed some immigrants who are being housed in a hotel. They are insulted by being served food like chicken nuggets and chips in the canteen, meaning some have resorted to ad hoc cooking arrangements in their rooms, so they can have some of the food which foods part of their way of life. One couple was, soon after being interviewed, moved and split up – one with their child, the second somewhere else. That is just inhumane.
I see that Michael Heseltine has spoken out strongly against Nigel Farage and Reform, drawing parallels between their policies and Enock Powell and Oswald Moseley. John Major has also previously expressed concern about the shift to the right of what remains of the Conservative party but it’s interesting that concern is being raised by ‘old school’ Tories while everyone else seems in disarray.
Hi Sylvia and thanks for those kind words. There are so many misconceptions around ‘migrants’ and their probable criminality. But it is mess, especially the housing of the ‘illegal migrants’, which is basically to herd people into awful accommodation and that’s it. Of course locals don’t like it, but where is the compassion for these people who have to be so desperate that they will attempt to cross the English Channel in those flimsy inflatable boats. And the mess is also because no-one really thinks outside the box – why are they coming? And couldn’t people be assessed in France and so on.
Of course the vilifying of all migrants who are mainly health professionals and students and so on as well as the ones that come without papers, often for very good reason, is because it moves people’s attention from the real villains. Some villains of course are the people traffickers but for Reform it is an easy answer to say you are in your awful shit position of poor pay, poor housing and poor health because of these brown people. I think the people who stir this up are the worst, because they know what they are doing – they’re saying anything for votes, anything for power.
Good for Michael Heseltine and John Major, they were proper Conservatives with morals and intellect. Sadly Boris Johnson got rid of the last of that type. I have never voted Conservative but I recognise that once upon a time, that party had some really good politicians that one could disagree with but respect wholeheartedly.
Do feel free to pass this blog on to anyone who you think might like to read it. I get that they might think I live in an ivory tower, or Lewes (!) which is a small leafy, middle class, yet radical town. But even so, I have tried to get the stats to rectify any odd beliefs.
Thanks so much Sylvia .
Thank you, Penny! I agree with every word. This piece should be in all the newspapers. A few weeks ago, the flags started flying in the small seaside town that I live in, a few miles from yourself. I felt so ashamed as the St. George’s Flag and the Union Jack were hoisted high on numerous lamposts, in people’s gardens and red crosses were painted across white mini roundabouts. I frequently despair because inhumanity is repeated again and again throughout the existence of the human race. We don’t learn, so what is to be done?
And thank you Penny for those kind words. I felt compelled to write this as I thought – look at those huts! What? This kind of accommodation looked from above like a ‘concentration camp’ layout. Now some people might think I’ve gone over the top and am tremendously silly thinking that, as, of course, these camps were originally for soldiers. But we need to be aware of what is being done in our own country. We need to take note. We need to notice.
Basically it is a mess and politicians of all parties have now got to the position of making the lives of these ‘illegal’ migrants a misery. To improve their lives would not be on their minds at all. For goodness sake, allow them at the very least to work!!! But no, allowing them to work, they say, would encourage more people to come here. The case FOR migrants is never explained fully. Instead, everything is being done to deter people. However, nothing deters desperate people. And that is the conundrum we live with now.
Thanks Penny – we shall talk more about this I am sure
While UK politics always confounds me a bit, I’m afraid the idiots on my side of the pond appear to have rubbed off a bit on yours. I just don’t understand the kerfuffle about immigrants. One of the men on my trip to Ireland last year had a tee shirt that said, “We All Come from Somewhere” with the message being we’re all on this planet from somewhere. Here in the states, with very few exceptions, we are all immigrants of one sort or another. Yet, that gets blown over all the time. We always celebrated October 12th as Columbus Day. Now, it’s the second Monday in October so government workers could get an extra day off. It’s also now known as Indigenous People Day, too. I cannot believe they put people in hotels or those godawful huts and don’t let them work. That’s just bizarre. It almost (notice I said almost) gives me comfort to know there is another country with just downright stupid things going on. The US is so screwed at this point. I know people who are not going on vacations because they’re afraid to fly. A friend told me she has friends who are pilots and air traffic controllers. They told her not to fly because it wasn’t safe. I do wish we had the ability to fire the lot of them and start over with the few who have a couple of brain cells and get that they work for us. And, I won’t even start on that orange thing who is destroying the People’s House. I have a friend who lives in a historic neighborhood. When they were renovating (to basically save this home), they had to get so many permits and approvals because it was a historic home. I am not even sure this country will last to the midterms in 2026. I’m not holding out much hope. Every day, I wake up to see what new nightmare is visited upon this country and by its very nature, the world. I wish I could write a positive comment on this blog of yours, Penny. Maybe in a few years, when people realize the damage that buffoon has done.
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Actually I am an immigrant as I as born in India. I still have my immigration papers!!!!
It is the nature of the world that people move around: for work, for loved ones, for safety. I haven’t delved deep enough to find out if there are more displaced people than ever, as oh my word, that number is astonishing , so many people are displaced.
To a Brit US politics is very difficult to understand! As in the Electoral College?? Which was set up to, I think, prevent voters having too much power. Is that right????? It seems odd. But here there are just as many oddities and actually our ‘first past the post’ system is really unfair, as a government can get in on very few votes, they just have to win places/seats. Mind y, while Proportional Representation would be fairer, on the other hand it would give far more MPs to that right-wing party Reform we have here with the overtly racist policies of deporting ‘legal’ migrants. There’s about a million who have a right to stay but are not citizens. Think of our society if you had that type of behaviour – unthinkable, but not entirely impossible. And as for the blog that I’ve just written, the policies and behaviour of all our political parties towards the so-called ‘illegal’ migrants is, in my view, so dangerously wrong.
Oh Marsha there is a drift to the right everywhere. Here in Europe it is very apparent. But, your President is a rogue President and we watch open mouthed at his antics which are so un-Presidential. Which must make you very sad.
And yet there is hope, just watched Jon Stewart (I am a fan, which must be obvious!) interviewing that wonderful young Democrat aiming to be Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani. Oh wow, what a man, what a candidate. He’s the hope of the future. Because, I do hope you don’t mind me saying, the current Democratic party is so very lame, tame and feeble. And they are all so old. They are just not acting as an opposition to Trump. Again we watch with open mouths. So it’s lovely when I hear or see dynamic Democrats – they do exist. Which is so good.
Thanks Marsha – I always like to read your thoughts on the state of America. It is always interesting and enlightening.
Oh, Penny, today has given me so much hope! I was overjoyed to see that Zohran Mamdani will be the mayor of NYC. I think Democrats (and I agree with you about them being lame, tame, and feeble and full of old white guys) are feeling more energized than ever. Mamdani had a message which spoke to so many people even though he has no problem saying he’s a Democratic Socialist. He’s like a breath of fresh air. I’m hopeful for the first time in a long time because so many places that voted for the orange thing went blue all the way! I think his economic policies have caused so much hardship for people (as well as the government being shut down) that their eyes are finally opening to the fact he’s a joke.
As for the Electoral College, I do believe it was a tool to keep the “common” man from having too much influence. The problem is it’s outgrown its usefulness. My vote rarely counts as my state is an all or nothing state. That, too, is a problem. It should be the same for every state. So many times, in the past several elections, the person who received the most popular votes lost because the other won more electors. It’s just stupid and needs to be gone.
I have been thinking about what you wrote a lot today. How did we get to this place. How is it that in the US there are now masked thugs who go about with seeming pleasure abusing people, especially if one even looks like they may have come from somewhere else. Even a few years ago when there was that awful policy of deliberately separating parents and children to discourage people form coming to the US. I attended a protest in which several clergy, a rabbi and at least one protestant minister were in attendance. I got to talking with a woman who had come to this country years ago from Ireland and she like me was raised as a Catholic. She commented that she never hears anything said in church about the plight of migrants. I agreed that I never had heard anything either, though in truth I do not attend services all that regularly. That evening I did go to mass and after decided with much trepidation to talk to the priest about this. The man simply became enraged. I actually thought for a moment he might hit me. ” I talk about scripture not the newspaper” was the reply he spat out at me. No dialogue, How dare I bring this up. I do not think think things are any better, in fact they are worse ,
Yesterday I went on a bus tour with my retirement group. In honor of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the country we visited local historic sites of the revolutionary war. Among these was a farmhouse, now located in a kind of industrial area on the outskirts of the city of White Plains. It was an unremarkable place by sight, a small white house, the rooms spare and worn. General George Washington, one of the founders of this nation and first president had used this house to strategize, the very table where he sat was still there, an object so plain and worn it would be overlooked at any tag sale. I had such an emotional reaction. Here was the very beginning of our history as a nation, with the hopes and dreams of what we might become. And yet here we are in 2025. I had to touch the table, see the mark of my hand in the light dust as to my surprise tears came to my eyes that I could not control.
Oh Darby, I was near to tears as I read your comment. What a terrible reaction from that priest, how very un-Christian. You must have felt awful. Because of course that policy was beyond belief, how could children be separated from their mothers. Just, so very bad, wicked really. I’m amazed (and shouldn’t be) and very glad the new Pope thinks differently and says there are no hierarchies of peoples. All should be treated equally and with love.
Your final paragraph was so beautiful and sad. The founding fathers had good will in their hearts, and had hopes and dreams. We watch across the pond and are horrified at the arrests of just ordinary people going about their ordinary lives. But there is hope. I am loving the way communities are responding. That wonderful woman giving the finger, Portland dressing up in inflatable costumes, and indeed neighbourhoods getting together and alerting people that ICE is around. And then there are those who get actively involved when an arrest, indeed, an abduction, is taking place. It is heartening to see this happening. And I know I keep banging on about Jon Stewart but I listen to his podcast, the Weekly Show, all the time. Many intelligent good people are still around. When you feel down Darby, search them out, and listen. There are plenty of these people about. And. At the very least, feel comfort that Trump’s poll numbers are very very down.
Sending you my very good wishes and a big hug from across the pond.
Well said Penny. I have been into a local hotel housing Asylum Seekers aiming to help any who wanted to, to practise their spoken English using games etc. They were polite and appreciative and often bored with their lives, though some played football or cricket.
I also hate the thought of those huts….
Oh Margaret, that’s so good that you do that. I knew that in some areas there is good will towards these so-called ‘illegals’ who are that for very good reasons. It just seems to be in other areas there is active hostility which when you read about it, is quite horrifying.
And I just felt that my reaction to those huts shouldn’t just fade away. We have to notice the slide towards this ‘othering’ which is just seen as another policy, because, what else can we do, the policy makers say. I note that you said they were bored. Oh for heaven’s sake, why can’t they be allowed to work?!
Glad you felt the same way. We shouldn’t be feeling that in the first place.
Thanks Margaret
Thank you Penny for the most comprehensive and erudite response to the plight of asylum seekers coming to this country. I wonder sometimes where is our human compassion? Has it been completely eroded by the likes of populist rhetoric that seems to be in ascendency at the moment? Or, is it that we are only concerned with our selves and our immediate family and social circle? As Margaret Thatcher famously said “There no such thing as society”. Has that philosophy, if you can call it that, seeped into the collective mind set? If it has then it is avery sad day for this country and for our future generations