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  • 8 hours ago
Sir Ed Davey wants to join an EU policy that could see asylum seekers sent back to the first EU country they touched down in.

Meghan Shaw reports.
Transcript
00:00By working with our European neighbours, we can stop the small boats crisis.
00:05St Margaret's Bay in Dover is usually more familiar with holiday makers than policy makers.
00:11But the leader of the Liberal Democrats has become the latest politician to take a trip
00:16to the beach to announce his plans that he believes will stop the so-called small boats
00:22crisis.
00:23This is the only way to solve the problem and by the way it would save the taxpayer
00:28billions.
00:29The Lib Dems' plan is to join a new EU migration pact that would allow the UK to return asylum
00:37seekers to the first EU country that they entered.
00:40Within the last six months, both Reform UK's Nigel Farage and Prime Minister Andy Burnham
00:46have headed to the port town to air out their migration plans.
00:50But Dover isn't exactly a Liberal Democrat stronghold.
00:54Has Dover become this sort of theatrical, performative place for politicians to come
01:00down and talk about small boat crossings, is that fair?
01:03No, the small boat crossing crisis is something that I think worries people in Dover.
01:08I think it worries people across Kent and across the country and we need to solve it.
01:12Now, the rain might have come out for Ed Davey, but will the support for his new plan here
01:18in Dover?
01:19I went to go speak to people up and down St Margaret's Bay to see if they really think
01:25his plans could change the tide.
01:27I don't think he'll do anything at all to stop the small boats crisis.
01:31I don't believe anything he says.
01:32Why's that?
01:34Because he's just full of rubbish.
01:36Even if it was decided it was necessary for some of them, or many of them, to go back
01:43to their homes, it's just not that easy.
01:46Many of their countries won't accept them.
01:49Many of them have nothing to go back to except destitution.
01:52Europe should be working together to get rid of them all together. Ed Davey's not going
01:57to get rid of them. No one's going to get rid of them. The only person that's got a chance
02:02is Nigel Flourge.
02:04If it was easy, we'd be doing it. The politicians want to please the people because they want
02:09to get re-elected and they want to win votes.
02:11It won't be long until Kent will be headed to the polling booth to vote for their new councils.
02:16But is this yet another major party leader trying to win over the White Cliffs?
02:21Megan Shaw in Dover.
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