How the failure of both Tories and Labour to arrive at a consensus on boat crossings has given Farage a strong footing

Neither party has come up with a convincing answer to the migration crisis that has hit these shores. And they have certainly not spoken adequately to the concerns of many voters in this country.

Labour has spent more time telling voters what shouldn’t be done while the Tories have leant into and provided veracity to some of the more incendiary rhetoric around migration.

But that does not detract from the fact that the migration crisis is very real. More than 800 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in a single day – a new record for the year so far.

The latest crossings take the provisional total for the number of arrivals so far this year to 12,313.

This is 18 per cent higher than this time last year when 10,472 crossings were recorded, and up 5 per cent on the total at this stage in 2022, when the figure stood at 11,690.

Seeing figures like this, it is no surprise that Farage has been able to gain such a strong footing in this general election campaign.

The majority of people who have concerns about migration want to see people treated fairly but are worried about the strain on services in this country. There are also worries about the wellbeing of those who are making these dangerous crossings.

A sensible internationalist approach is needed to prevent small boat crossings. One where every country across mainland Europe takes responsibility for the migrant crisis.

Instead the Tory party continues to push costly and questionable schemes while Labour provides little clarity on how it really intends to get on top of the crisis.