LABOUR Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols shares her views in this week’s column.

As Parliament winds down for summer, the Government is scrambling to address its shambolic record on immigration.

Nobody denies there is a problem that needs to be fixed. We have every right to manage our borders.

The Government has failed to fix the problem, losing control of our border security, the total amount of net migration, and the asylum system.

It’s doubling down on failing policies, and refusing to consider sensible alternatives proposed by Labour.

It’s not surprising that people want to flee war, or come to the UK for a better life.

But, the reality is, gangs of smugglers are exploiting vulnerable and desperate people, including children, who are making dangerous journeys across the channel in unsafe vessels, sometimes with deadly results.

The Government has not helped by eliminating safe and legal routes to the UK, refugees have no alternative but dangerous crossings. Over the past 13 years, the Tories have broken the asylum system through brutal cuts at the UK Border Agency and Home Office.

The total number of asylum claims handled has collapsed, the backlog has soared and the taxpayer has forked out billions on costly Home Office hotels. Their new Bill won’t fix this and without proper return agreements in place, the majority of people will be placed into temporary accommodation indefinitely.

Their strategy is cruel, costly, ineffective and against international law.

Locally, we have seen the impact of this more than anyone. Half the hotels the Home Office has chosen to house migrants in the North West are in Warrington or nearby in Daresbury.

The Home Office has forced these hotels on local communities without consultation. But they have refused to provide adequate answers and crucially even after these requests, the Government continues to maintain three Home Office hotels in Warrington.

The Government places people in hotels, with privately run contractors charging over the odds at the cost of the taxpayer. They refuse to provide adequate funding to deal with often complex support needed for those who have fled war.

Councils do not receive enough funding for things like schools to support lone children who have made the perilous journey. None of this is the fault of the refugees, responsibility sits solely with the Government, and their failed migration policies. 

Labour’s plan directly targets the evil smugglers, ending the use of hotels, clearing the asylum backlog, working internationally to stop crossings, introducing return agreements and finally establishing properly managed, controlled, safe and legal routes. 

I will continue to raise residents' concerns, challenge the failed Government policies, call for a fairer and more efficient system, and demand the Conservatives answer why they continue to ignore the legitimate concerns we have in Warrington.