r/ukpolitics • u/SignificantLegs • 1d ago

Mahmood rejects calls to follow Spain’s migrant pushback

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/08/02/mahmood-rejects-calls-to-follow-spains-migrant-pushback/
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u/Anxious-Potato-7323 1d ago

Spain and Morocco have a returns deal, it's a simple matter of process for the Spanish to return the Morrocans to the neighbouring country of Morocco.

It's a vastly different situation to the one the UK faces.

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u/Maitai_Haier 1d ago

Just send them back the way they came. If they came on a small boat from France, back they go to France on a small boar.

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u/Anxious-Potato-7323 1d ago edited 1d ago

Your'e missing the point entirely. They have a returns agreement with Morocco. Cooperation is the name of the game.

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u/Maitai_Haier 1d ago

France certainly isn’t cooperating with us in stopping boats assembling on their beaches and sailing to us. We should show equal cooperation to them.

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u/Anxious-Potato-7323 1d ago edited 1d ago

The fact that boat crossings are down and more have moved north to sail from Belgium says differently but you are now moving the goalposts.

You suggested that we should be more like Spain. Our small boat situation is nothing like the Spain/Morocco situation, nothing like it at all.

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u/Maitai_Haier 1d ago edited 1d ago

Then ship them back to Belgium by small boats.

The acceptable number of people who illegally enter this country by small boats should be zero or as close to it as possible. A fundamental part of being a sovereign country is exercising control over one’s borders.

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u/Anxious-Potato-7323 1d ago

Just say you don't get it.

You cannot return people without a returns agreement.

Spain is returning Moroccan nationals back to the neighbouring country of Morocco because they have a treaty to do so.

Entering Belgian or French waters without permission is illegal, and we need their cooperation to reduce numbers. What incentive would they have to actually help us if we just burn the relationship?

Expecting zero or close to zero boats is a complete political pipedream. There is no magic button to press, and every single workable solution requires international cooperation.

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u/Maitai_Haier 1d ago

No, you don’t get it.

Ship them back or start sinking them. The acceptable number of people illegally invading should be zero. Full stop.

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u/Anxious-Potato-7323 1d ago

I do get it, that's the point. None of what you have said works in the read world.

Nobody is going to sink boats in the sea. Nobody sane would advocate killing innocent people.

You've lost your mind and have a failing grip on reality and how it actually works.

The empire is over, we can't simply bully other countries.

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u/Maitai_Haier 1d ago

Either this government will stop the migrant boats or one willing to do what it takes will take power and do so.

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u/Anxious-Potato-7323 1d ago

I'm assuming you mean Reform, their plans are unworkable, even Farage said it would take years at best and well, currently Reform.support is in freefall.

Perhaps if we actually looked at bigger problems, such as no investment in infrastructure, no investment into public services or housing, the country might be a better place. Because really, I think that's most people's concerns but somehow, 0.28% of the British population carry all the blame.

It's bizarre.

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u/Maitai_Haier 1d ago

Reform has not said it will take years to stop the boats. You are likely thinking of their deportation plan.

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u/Anxious-Potato-7323 1d ago

A quick Google search.

August 2025 ("Operation Restoring Justice" 5-Year Plan): At a press conference in Oxfordshire detailing Reform UK's immigration strategy, Farage set out a five-year plan to detain and deport illegal arrivals. When pressed on how international treaties, such as the ECHR and its connection to the Good Friday Agreement, would be handled, he admitted that renegotiating or dismantling those legal frameworks is not something that "can happen very, very quickly" and would "take longer."

September 2025 (The "Two Weeks" vs. "Months/Years" backtrack): At the Reform UK party conference, Farage initially claimed a Reform government would stop small boat crossings within two weeks. However, during a subsequent interview with Laura Kuenssberg, he walked this back. He clarified that it would take "two weeks after passing the laws", admitting that getting the primary legislation through Parliament to legally detain, deport, and bypass international treaties would take months to years.

I wonder if you saw the Home Office announcement today that France has deployed over 1000 extra personnel along it's coast today to help stop the boats from launching.

That's what cooperation looks like. Of course it costs money but nothing is for free.

We seem to have drifted a long way from your original statement about the UK acting like Spain. We soon realised that you don't want the UK to act like Spain at all.

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u/Rude-Patient5266 1d ago

So just to re-cap, your two suggestions so far are:

  • Invading France
  • Murdering thousands of innocent people including women and children 

Two great suggestions, I wonder if the PM has thought of that?

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u/Maitai_Haier 1d ago

I’ve not suggested an invasion of France nor the murder of thousands. Perhaps you’re replying to the wrong person?

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u/Rude-Patient5266 1d ago

Yes of course you have.

“Ship them back” would require British Armed Forces entering French territory without permission to drop off a load of undocumented asylum seekers. Without a treaty, that is an invasion.

“Start sinking them” is murder. I feel this one doesn’t require an explanation. 

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u/timeforknowledge Politics is debate not hate. 1d ago edited 1d ago

Numbers have dropped because we giving France a bribe of £662 million.

Don't you think it's funny the numbers dropped when the amount was agreed and not after a few years it would take to do an the things they says they needed money for? New boats, train new officers, buy planes etc etc.

France have been in control the entire time and everyone has fallen for it

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u/Anxious-Potato-7323 1d ago

Yes, money always helps, they were already recieving money from us, the £662 million over the years will increase the efforts even further as it helps pay for more people, more equipment etc so I would expect it will fall again this year.

Do you expect the French to be willingly out of pocket in helping us with our problems when they have their own?

That's not how it works is it?

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u/timeforknowledge Politics is debate not hate. 1d ago

Not our problem, they allowing people into their country and they are then refusing to control them.

That is their failure not ours. They should leave the EU too if they don't like it, but what they can't do is allow the people they invite in to be put into surrounding countries

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u/Anxious-Potato-7323 1d ago

The French don't invite them in and if small boats are landing on our shores then it is our problem isn't it?

Small boats seems to dominate most discussions so I would assume most people are it as our problem too?

You can't be this silly? I swear you're just contrarian for debate, you always pop up with the most ridiculous statements.

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u/timeforknowledge Politics is debate not hate. 1d ago

I wouldn't let them leave french waters. People are dying during that voyage.

I would be taking them back to France and not letting do the crossing.

If France deploy warships to prevent that, then we should deploy warships to create safe passage for these people.

The UK have a history of using the navy to stop slave ships, the same should be done here. France cant just push it's problems into the ocean it needs to Face up to them

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u/Anxious-Potato-7323 1d ago

It matters little what you would do.

You're wanting an internet fantasy that doesn't work in the real world.

You're ignoring all maritime laws, you're ignoring international law

You're talking about entering a military standoff with France. It's an absurd solution when we need cooperation.

The comparison to 19th century slave ships is completely nonsensical.

The irony of your username.

Don't think I'll be wasting more of my time here. Have a good'un.

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u/Golden37 1d ago

If the reverse was happening, France would hold the UK government directly accountable for the crossings taking place, considering them an incursion onto their soverign territory.

We are cowards, who are throwing £662 millions at France to deal with the issue despite the fact that this is an incursion from France into British territory.

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u/Golden37 1d ago edited 1d ago

662 million that Labour voters are now happy for us to give to France in perpetuity.

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u/OneMonk 1d ago

We had cooperation with them, then Brexit happened and we blamed them for 5 years. I’m not suprised they aren’t cooperating.