there are no English passport checkers at Dover… this is purely Brexshit related. Before the UK became a third country, freedom of movement existed and there was no requirement to stamp passports which increased throughput time at the port.
There is just as much a problem at ports other than Dover where there are no French controls in place - Heathrow and other airports a case in point. The local MP - a prominent Brexshitter - is stirring the pot and this situation will soon become worse when further checks are imposed. I feel sorry for the Dover port authority in a way, they are caught between a rock and a hard place.
Make no mistake - this situation was brought about on itself by the UK and is in no way the EU “punishing” the UK for leaving as Brexshitters will try to make you believe.
Even Truss warned of these issues before, for her own political convenience, she flip-flopped to the dark side like de Pfeffle did.
At every turn, the French are being wrongly accused in these affairs. They were wrongly accused over fishing rights and their accusers are wrong on this issue too.
EDIT: just to add that there is equally a problem with English “passport checkers” at Calais too - how interesting that the Tory press, Dover Port Authority and Elphicke are silent on that…
and if people have forgotten how this all came about - it is as a consequence of the 2003 Le Touquet treaty the details of which, as a reminder, are reproduced here.
This treaty of course has nothing at all to do with Brexit but the fact that the UK left the EU since has everything to do with the current issues since the ending of FOM and the start of full biometric checks expected to begin later in the year which will serve to compound the problem further.
Maybe now is the time for either party to the treaty to end it under Art 25, section 2 since it may now have well passed its sell by date. If the UK is indeed so unhappy about the French “passport checkers” on British soil and wish to take the task back in house and improve matters (in your dreams), then they have the means to do so. But like everything else, when push comes to shove, the UK is just full of wind and piss
So @randomadness tell me how you think I am wrong on this one…
There was no single date for ‘pre-EU’ - the EU evolved gradually out of what was generally called the ‘the common market’ in the the UK (on the continent various language versions of ‘EU’ were in use before either the Lisbon or Maastricht treaties) - unless you’re going right back to the UK’s accession 50 years ago - but then there is no comparison between the levels of cross-border traffic.
Foreign secretary and Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss said the delays and queues were “unacceptable”, blaming a lack of staffing by the French at the border.
But Pierre-Henri Dumont, MP for Calais, said “This is an aftermath of Brexit. We have to run more checks than before.” Mr Dumont also said the Port of Dover was “too small” and that there were too few kiosks due to lack of space.
December 2020. I don’t know whether in fact between then and now the U.K. government did a U turn and did actually put more money in, but this rejection certainly isn’t the french side’s fault.
This problem is purely down to Brexit,all the extra paperwork checks,every passport and all the pages having to be checked and calculated when your last visit was and then having to be stamped,obviously it all takes much longer to process.This is what people voted for apparently and they were all fully aware of what they were voting for,no point in moaning and complaining now,negative outcome after negative outcome,but it is always someone else that is to blame.
I’m currently watching Sunak talking in Lincolnshire and he’s banging on saying “If we are to deliver on promises of Brexit we need someone who believes in it and voted for it”. The crowd - admittedly all Tory party members - are absolutely lapping it up.
Oh, of course. It’s not surprising really, but does demonstrate that even now, six years after the referendum, Brexit is still as divisive in the UK - potentially even moreso now. Whereas before it was Leave vs Remain, now within the Leave camp you’ve got “genuine quitters” vs “converts”
It would be better if this leadership campaign was fought on promoting the candidate who is the best but, as usual, it’s just a case of blue-on-blue, slagging off the other candidate… “Vote for me not cause I’m any good but cause the other person is worse”
I forget which BBC R4 show I was listening to yesterday but the change to biometric passport checks was mentioned. This was obviously planned for air travel. When it is brought into effect at ports in a year or so it seems everyone will need to get out of their vehicles at immigration. Imagine the delays.
I see Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, has now confirmed the French view that ‘extra checks needed since Brexit and therefore longer transaction times at border control’ were the main cause of the delays.
@randomadness - so it turns out the report of only 4 of the check points being in use - given such a high profile in the UK media, of course - related to just a few minutes, and was not the main issue.
The UK government’s refusal to fund extra booths at Dover, however…
I do think though that the French made a mistake in saying their staff couldn’t get through the tunnel when it was actually running to time on their side and still is.
