But they wouldn't be trafficked by criminals if the Uk had legal routes?!? So set up legal routes and remove their fears about them and the dangers they pretend to be so worried about would be over.
The people from outside the EU are coming for short-term work visas, not to stay in the Uk and pay taxes and settle down. They can't even bring their family. They'll be replaced by another group every couple of years. In every aspect Brexit has had the exact opposite effect of what people they thought they were voting for - worse trade, more immigration, less democracy, etc from A to Z, not one aspect has been any kind of benefit (and there's much worse to come).
Yes, that's why a coherent migration policy is needed.
However, in the real world the people-trafficking criminality has to be stopped first. Whilst people still choose to make use of criminals, and such criminal activity is seen by many to be a form of 'queue jumping, because only those who can afford to pay these criminals are seen to be benefiting. Then I suspect they will not persuade either the government, nor the majority of people in the UK to seek a better solution.
This has become something of a 'Mexican-standoff' situation and perfect cover for the Tories, but I suspect a Labour Government would also have to resolve the small boats issues first, before it can win over a stronger support for more coherent routes for genuine asylum seekers, from the general populace.
If this is the case, then the policy rules will have to change and yes at some point relatives and dependents will need to be properly accommodated and the whole process made coherent and clear that if you apply to come here you are expected to stay.*
As I've mentioned before I believe we are a long way off a
coherent migration approach yet, let alone such a defined policy. The current Tory government will introduce new and punitive actions (*) (
some I previously referred to as 'sand-bagging') along the way, this will be extrapolated when the Rwanda thing fails, probably in the run up to the GE.
I don't think this aspect of Brexit has caused any lasting problems, specifically in terms of immigration issues. The numbers of people arriving in the UK under freedom of movement did lead to lowering of wages in some areas, which have since risen (in part also because of Covid) as those people moved back. True some businesses have suffered a hit on their bottom line as a result of wage rises and it has forced them to have to look once again at training, and hence retaining, their own UK based people, instead of raiding the workforce of others. Conversely many companies are benefiting from being able to bring in specialist staff from the rest of the world, where crucial vacancies exist, at a lower rate than exists in the EU.
As you have often predicted the full effects from Brexit are likely to be experienced when the barriers to trade increase in the coming period, but I strongly suspect, it will only be the right-wing extremists who get upset about the apparent effects of Brexit on migration.
