The Kent seaside town of Dover has become a recurring backdrop for rightwing politicians and content creators who claim it is being "invaded" by small boat crossings. Yet on a recent afternoon, with sunbathers and dog-walkers along the marina, the scene looked more like an ordinary seaside resort than a frontline.
Residents are split. Some say the town is being exploited for social media careers and political stunts; others argue the constant attention keeps a genuine problem in the public eye.
Philp's Channel trip questioned
This week, shadow home secretary Chris Philp took to the water in a fishing boat in the Channel, suggesting French authorities had tried to deter him from highlighting the small boats crisis. The French government said he simply passed by a routine training exercise that involved firing live rounds.
Alison Drake, a Dover resident, said: "They're using Dover a bit. People making all these videos and that is not really doing much, is it?"
Residents divided over attention
Razia Shariff, who runs the Kent Refugee Action Network (Kran), a charity providing education for refugee and asylum-seeking young people, said such stunts were designed to stoke fear. "What they're trying to do is play on fear with all of these stunts," she said.
Tom Armstrong, who lives in the area and is avowedly anti-immigration, said the "country is being devalued" by immigration. He welcomed the rightwing focus, saying: "They're letting the people know that the French are not doing anything." He added: "You've got to draw attention." Later he said: "We've got to know the truth."
Drake agreed that highlighting the issue might prompt action, but was sceptical. "Everyone knows about it, it's about time they did something about it. They don't do anything," she said.
Philp's record and Kran's work
Few people have had more opportunity to address the small boats crisis than Philp, who, as immigration minister in the early 2020s, oversaw a sharp increase in crossings.
In contrast, Kran is working to help young refugees and asylum seekers. At a summer scheme in Kent this week, Shariff spoke glowingly of their predecessors' achievements. One, she said, had arrived in the UK as a child refugee and now worked as a nurse in local hospitals. "Others have set up their own businesses against all the odds. They get on with their lives and they try," she said.
Farage's 'invasion' language rejected
Carol, a Dover resident who did not give her surname, said the focus should be on organisations such as Kran rather than on politicians such as Philp and Reform leader Nigel Farage.
Farage has repeatedly referred to small boat crossings as an "invasion". Standing on the Dover seafront in 2024, he described the site as the "frontline of the great national debate on immigration".
Carol, standing on almost the same spot two years later, did not recognise that picture. "I mean, look, it's pleasant enough," she said. "I think it is unfair that Dover is headlined in that way. Because you can sit on the beach, enjoy the area."
She worried that using the town as a backdrop for such content could deter tourists. "It's a bit rundown, like many towns. It's a bit sad. So it's not a great place to shop, by all means, but the seafront's lovely. And the surrounding countryside is lovely. I'm sure it isn't helping. Dover has got that image."
