We need a dose of reality in the debate about English Channel crossings

It's absurd that wave machines or volcanic islands would even be articulated as ideas, let alone the fact that ASYLUM APPLICATIONS HAVE FALLEN

Yes, there are fewer asylum seekers coming to the UK

Some useful figures from evidence to the Home Affairs Committee here

The number of asylum seekers arriving via small boats rose from 465 to 2,012 in the first 2 quarters of the year, but the number arriving by other routes dropped from 8,455 to 4,850 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/channel-migrant-crossings-government-campaign-uk-streets-gold-a9703296.html

Boat crossings have happened in small numbers for a long time, and were the source of the 2015 onwards Mediterannean refugee crisis

Their rise in the Channel was predicted last year by a parliamentary committee that Priti Patel sat on at the time https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/channel-crossings-migrants-priti-patel-boris-johnson-boats-france-a9663826.html

In a press briefing today, the National Crime Agency reiterated the fact that boats are being used more because of a fall in lorries coming via ferry and general air and sea traffic during coronavirus

They expect Channel crossings to fall as the weather worsens

It's not an invasion, it's not a crisis, it's not even a surprise

It's past time for the government to admit that publicly