The Home Secretary is failing to do a good job according to 78 percent of voters who took part in a poll of 10,782 people held by Express.co.uk from November 26 to 29. The remaining 22 percent disagreed when asked: 'Is Priti Patel doing a good job as Home Secretary?'
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The Home Secretary is failing to do a good job according to 78 percent of voters who took part in a poll of 10,782 people held by Express.co.uk from November 26 to 29. The remaining 22 percent disagreed when asked 'Is Priti Patel doing a good job as Home Secretary?'
Priti Patel has been leading strategy on immigration as Home Secretary since 2019.
In this time, the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats has risen almost one hundred-fold according to Home Office data.
Approximately 26,000 people are believed to have arrived in Britain this year after crossing the Channel in small boats.
In 2018, the figure is thought to have been as small as 299, meaning the number has jumped almost 8,700 per cent over the past three years.
READ MORE: Boris gives his 'full support' to Priti during migrant crisis control
When Britain left the EU at the start of 2020, it was no longer able to use the bloc's system of returning migrants to the first member state they entered.
Now, Boris Johnson has requested to reinforce this policy – an idea that was not welcomed by the French.
The joint Anglo-French intelligence unit was launched by Priti Patel and Gerald Darmanin in 2020 to tackle the criminals involved in organising dangerous Channel crossings.
At the time, Ms Patel and Mr Darmanin emphasised their “shared commitment to returning boats in the Channel to France, rather than allowing them to reach the UK.”
But speaking on Wednesday, the Prime Minister admitted that the Home Secretary’s efforts “haven’t been enough”.
According to our polling data, Britons share his sentiment.
Yesterday, Ms Patel tweeted about having a phone call with a diplomat from the Netherlands, and said the two “agreed more coordinated action was needed”.
Replying to Ms Patel, George Martin said: “All talk, sadly no action.”
Heather Jones wrote: “The solution is so very simple. Provide safe routes. Provide independent, efficient, fair decisions and good support. Make our asylum system the best is the world. What a legacy that would be.”
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Whilst others encourage Ms Patel to up the militarisation of the French coastline.
Michael Wood said: “Surely the French and the UK can put drones up on the coast and spot the people traffickers, it’s not hard to spot a 30 man boat on the beach in daylight.”
Al Robinson agreed: “What’s our Navy for but to protect our interests, we’re not at war.
“Get some of them strung across the Channel with all their sophisticated tracking gear and get these boats safely turned back.”
Directing his comments to the Home Secretary, Michael Alan tweeted: “I have always tried to support you and believe in you, but I just don't feel that you are strong enough to make the controversial decisions needed to tackle illegal immigration.
“I've lost all faith in you and the Conservatives.”
Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Priti Patel said that she is prepared to “do absolutely whatever is necessary to secure the area [French beaches] so that vulnerable people do not risk their lives by getting into unseaworthy boats”.
She added: “These journeys across the Channel are absolutely unnecessary.”
There has been no word from the Home Secretary or the Prime Minister on providing safe routes to the UK for asylum seekers.
European Ministers suggested on Sunday that the UK should make itself “less attractive” to migrants.
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