A former Scotland Yard detective has warned that the ongoing migrant crisis in the UK is likely to worsen, despite Prime Minister Andy Burnham's pledge last month that the Labour government would be "relentless" in its efforts to stop small boat crossings. The former detective accused politicians of ignoring the concerns of communities affected by government decisions on migrant accommodation.
Growing tensions over migrant housing
TalkTV presenter Kevin O'Sullivan highlighted growing tensions surrounding the issue, particularly following the decision to house more than 1,000 male migrants in the village of Piddington. He claimed that frustration among local residents was increasingly spilling over into acts of vandalism targeting houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).
He also pointed to record levels of vandalism against mosques over the past year. Meanwhile, more than 150 refugee charities have reported a sharp increase in threats against their staff as well as vandalism on their properties.
Fears of social unrest
"You can see it bubbling. It's simmering and I fear it's going to boil over because we have a government that doesn't seem to understand that the people want the migrant crisis solved, and doesn't do anything about it," O'Sullivan said. "I fear there might be social unrest soon," the presenter mused.
Agreeing with Kevin's assessment, Mike argued that Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrat MP for Piddington, is failing to represent his constituents' concerns. It comes after villagers in Piddington voted in favour of leaving the UK in response to Labour plans to house 1,250 male migrants in a former MoD site on their doorstep.
Criticism of government and MP
Mike claimed: "You just have government ministers who are simply not listening to the people. They're not interested in what we think. They're determined to have a multicultural society. There's a real problem between the people and the government and it's getting worse and worse."
Kevin went on to describe Miller as a "disgrace to politics", claiming all he does is "drone on" about the importance of remaining in the ECHR. "He represents the people of Pittington. He'll barely talk about it! He abstained from the vote on the migrant camp yesterday and all he drones on about is the importance of staying in the ECHR," the presenter fumed, before turning his attention to the prime minister.
"Burnham calls himself the listening prime minister. Well, he better start listening and our politicians had better start listening because this relatively minor vandalism and attacks, I think could be on the edge of exploding into something a lot worse," he said. Mike agreed: "This is what happens when people feel they're not being listened to, when the government is at such a distance from the opinions of ordinary people."
