The Director of First Migration has called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to hold a “referendum” on illegal migration, warning the anger from Britons about the crisis will “only get worse”.
Speaking to GB News, Dean Morgan argued that Britons are feeling “ignored” by the Labour Government on the issue and are “desperate” to have their voices heard.
New polling has found that most Britons want migrants arriving by small boat to be detained immediately and not let out until their asylum claims have been processed.
According to YouGov data, 57 per cent support holding them in secure accommodation, an overwhelming opposition to the use of asylum hotels.
Just 11 per cent of voters were found to hold a positive view of people crossing the Channel to seek asylum.
On Saturday, masses of anti-migrant protesters brought Dover to a standstill, blocking roads to the port and causing four-mile queues of traffic.
On Sunday, around 500 demonstrators are believed to have joined a protest in the Portsmouth area after a small boat containing asylum seekers arrived on the coast.
Discussing the polling on GB News, Mr Morgan said that the feeling amongst Britons is due to “three decades” of mass uncontrolled migration.
He said: “Well, there’s never been a referendum, has there, when it comes to mass migration, whether it be legal or illegal, and since Tony Blair’s days, that’s really when this all began.
“We’ve had three decades of uncontrolled mass migration, and that’s had such a demographic impact, and it’s challenged communities, and generally, the perception seems to be by an ever-increasing number of people that it’s making the UK worse, not a better place.”
Following the two protests in Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend, Mr Morgan stressed that it should be a “warning to the authorities” that they must start “listening to the British people”.
He told GB News: “People were sold for a long time on the idea that mass migration would help our GDP, but since 2008, the GDP has just stagnated. The cost of living has gone through the roof, wages have stagnated.
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“And so even that turns out not to be true, I’d argue that it’s understandable that people are feeling very ignored. They’re not being listened to and they’re getting desperate.”
Mr Morgan declared that the Labour Government should hold a “referendum” on the matter to truly hear the voice of the nation.
He said: “I’m reading the same comments over and over again, you can’t vote your way out of this.
“This should be a warning to the authorities that they have to start listening to the British people, and I call on a referendum.
“If we can do it for Brexit and Scottish independence, why can’t we have a referendum on migration?”
Reflecting on the anger from Britons about the crisis, Mr Morgan warned that the situation will “get worse before it gets better”.
He said: “Well, it’s only going to get worse, let’s be honest, before it gets better, because we’re seeing the same agenda play out now that has played out for 30 years.
“We have to start asking some serious questions, but it just seems to me the authorities want this.
“I don’t think that they’re really doing anything to stop it, and because of that, and because they double down every time there’s an atrocity and don’t listen to the people, the people are going to get to a point where they feel they can’t vote their way out of it.
“And then what happens? This isn’t because of them, they’re reacting to the lack of action that an increasing number of people are calling for to resolve this issue.”
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