Yet imagining how "thrilled" they must be, after the recent tragedy in the Channel, where four people lost their lives, is even more sobering in light of the debate about small boats and immigration. It doesn't matter what your political persuasion is: nobody can think that the status quo is satisfactory. The status quo is heartbreaking. People are dying.
Rishi Sunak has decided that he wanted to look hard at this issue and has staked quite a lot of political capital on bringing down the enormous backlog of cases of people waiting in the asylum system. They are currently being housed for months (and sometimes years) in hotel accommodation and encampments. Yet the prime minister seems to want us to ignore the fact that the backlog of cases - which is higher than it has ever been - has happened entirely on his watch.
The man has been in one of the top two jobs in politics consistently while this ridiculously expensive situation has spiralled out of control. The reason people who may not have a claim for valid asylum are housed in hotels for years on end unable to work, unable to move on with their lives - is entirely the fault of the backlog that the Tory government has allowed to happen. There has not been some seismic increase in the number of people seeking asylum; the thing that has dramatically changed is our ability to process them with any skill or speed.
Denne historien er fra December 20, 2022-utgaven av The Independent.
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Denne historien er fra December 20, 2022-utgaven av The Independent.
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South Africa find a spring in their step to dominate game
A captivating year saw lots of storylines including a thrilling sevens tournaments at the Paris Olympics, Antoine Dupont magic and a Springboks double, writes Harry Latham-Coyle
Lords of the ring walk
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk created history this year
Basque in the glow: Iraola the best-kept secret lifting Cherries to new heights.
A 42-year-old Spanish head coach from the Basque region making waves and earning admirers in the Premier League isn’t a unique position.
Even cold hard cash isn't enough for this spent force
Pep Guardiola has witnessed his empire start to fall as ‘forever football’ takes its toll, writes Miguel Delaney
The babies from the Boxing Day tsunami - 20 years on
The 2004 disaster left thousands without parents. Former travel agent Lynn Stanier explains how after volunteering she vowed to never stop helping the kids she met in Sri Lanka
Hundreds of Humvees left by US forces in Afghanistan
American and Nato troops abandoned military equipment worth more than $7.2bn, much of which is now in a state of disrepair in the Taliban’s hands, as Arpan Rai reports
The family who see saving Gaza's animals as 'our duty'
A heroic family-run animal sanctuary has defied the odds by working around the clock” to save hundreds of animals suffering in Gaza during a year of intense Israeli bombardment.
Nearly 40 dead as plane crashes in Kazakhstan
Children among 29 survivors of Russian-bound flight
Man arrested for attempted murder after four hit by car
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after four pedestrians were hit by a car in London’s West End in the early hours of Christmas Day.
Britain's lost Atlantis: Stone Age artefacts on the seabed
Discovery reveals more on prehistoric land under North Sea
