Watton Town of Sanctuary

No one can accuse the people of Watton of racism. Watton has welcomed more migrants into the town than most towns in East Anglia. 17% of Watton residents were not born in the UK compared with 10% for Breckland district as a whole and 14% for East Anglia as a whole, as of the 2021 census. The majority have integrated well into the community. In fact I used to work in Watton and I was always made to feel welcome by everyone there.

However we’ve got to be honest here. The Asylum system is now being abused by economic migrants looking for a back door system of entry to the UK. Most ordinary people have completely lost faith in the system. I do not believe that the majority of people applying are genuinely fleeing from war or persecution. Worse than that, it seems many of the applications are from people involved in criminal activities such as drugs, people trafficking and prostitution.

MPs have been asking the government for figures on crime committed by Asylum Seekers since 2006 but the government, the ONS and the police are still not collating these figures. However some statistics and trends do become public from time to time via organisations like Migration Watch and the Refugee Council. 

The annual refusal rate of Asylum applications in 2004 was 88%. By 2023 that figure had dropped to 33%. Clearly something has changed to make the courts approve many more applications than before, and at a much higher rate. So what has changed?

We know that the perpetrator of the chemical attack in Clapham this year twice failed an Asylum application and then succeeded by pretending to convert to Christianity. We know that the Liverpool hospital bomber did the same thing. In fact Liverpool Cathedral has admitted converting 200 Asylum Seekers to Christianity in the last few years but not a single one who was British born. 

Is it possible that the reason for the Asylum refusal rate dropping from 88% to 33% is that an army of human rights activists are now educating Asylum Seekers on how to game the system? Claim to be Christian or Homosexual and they can easily convince a judge they’re being persecuted in a country where there is no respect for either. That would certainly explain such a sudden reversal in the success rate of Asylum applications. 

In 2023 the Home Secretary said there was “substantial evidence” that “many people coming here illegally are getting very quickly involved in the drug trade and other exploitation in criminality and prostitution”.

I must stress that I personally know genuine refugees who have come here from Ukraine, Iraq and Palestine and the people I have met have been genuinely hard working decent people fleeing war. They have learnt English and integrated into society well. They work in the NHS and in our Universities making a valuable contribution to society. We should continue to help people when war breaks out. Especially if they have assisted British forces abroad. 

However there is no war in Albania, Turkey, India or Pakistan. Iran is not at war (at the time of writing) and neither are Eritrea or Vietnam. Yet these are some of the top countries for Asylum applications. We cannot house the entire third world. There has to be a limit. 

I find it intolerable that only around a quarter of failed asylum seekers ever leave Britain and I believe this has brought the whole system into disrepute. The fault for this issue lies entirely at the feet of this Conservative government which has utterly failed to control this system either through incompetence or indifference. That is despite the many promises and pledges to deal with it.

I believe in a broken windows approach to policing. What that means is if you enforce laws properly even for petty crimes like broken windows, then you reduce all types of criminality. If someone breaks the law without consequence at a low level it encourages them to engage in greater and greater forms of criminality over time. A zero tolerance approach to policing is the best approach. It works well in other countries.

We can have a multi racial society that is integrated and harmonious, as has been achieved in places like Malaysia, Singapore or Dubai. However the common thread there is integration, respect for local customs and strict enforcement of law and order. That is exactly what we need in the UK.

Multi-culturalism is NOT the same as a multi racial society. Multi-culturalism means lots of different cultures living in the same place but not mixing or integrating with each other. Attending different schools and not socialising with each other. That is NOT a desirable objective. We need to aim for a harmonious society where people look after each other and respect each other. That absolutely starts and ends with respect for the law. It is only through respect for the law and enforcement of the law that we can have confidence that our institutions are keeping us safe.

So in answer to the question I have been asked multiple times, no I’m afraid I do NOT support Watton becoming a sanctuary town for Asylum Seekers. Certainly not until we fix our housing crisis, healthcare waiting lists and sewage problems. The infrastructure in Watton needs time to catch up with the recent expansion of the town’s population. Our police need to get a grip on local crime gangs. But most of all not until the government gets control of the Asylum system and restores confidence in the system. Then we can talk about welcoming more people. Until then the people of this town come first.